Nuclear energy and radiation terminology · MLC-0119

Nuclear energy and radiation terms: C (61)

• CalibrationThe adjustment, as necessary, of a measuring device such that it responds within the required range and...
• CallExecution of a specific function within software.
• CapabilityThe maximum load that a generating unit, generating station, or other electrical apparatus can carry under...
• CapacityThe amount of electric power that a generator, turbine, transformer, transmission, circuit, or system is able...
• Capacity chargeOne of two elements in a two-part pricing method used in capacity transactions (the other element is the...
• Capacity factorThe ratio of the available capacity (the amount of electrical power actually produced by a generating unit)...
• Capacity factor (gross)The ratio of the gross electricity generated, for the time considered, to the energy that could have been...
• Capacity factor (net)The ratio of the net electricity generated, for the time considered, to the energy that could have been...
• Capacity utilizationA percentage representing the extent to which a generating unit fulfilled its capacity in generating electric...
• CaskA heavily shielded container used for the dry storage or shipment (or both) of radioactive materials such as...
• Categories of radiation sourcesThe International Atomic Energy Agency's Code of Conduct on the Safety and Security of Radioactive Sources...
• Categories of special nuclear materialThe NRC groups special nuclear materials and the facilities that possess them into three categories based...
• CationA positively charged ion.
• Chain reactionA reaction that initiates its own repetition. In a fission chain reaction, a fissionablenucleus absorbs a...
• Charged particleAn ion. An elementary particle (part of an element) carrying a positive or negative electric charge.
• Chemical recombinationFollowing an ionization event, the positively and negatively charged ion pairs may or may not realign...
• Circumferential crackA crack that is oriented in a plane parallel to the transverse section of a pipe.
• CladdingThe thin-walled metal tube that forms the outer jacket of a nuclear fuel rod. It prevents corrosion of the...
• Classified informationInformation that has been determined pursuant to an Executive order to require protection against...
• Cleanup systemA system used for continuously filtering and demineralizing a reactor coolant system to reduce contamination...
• CoastdownAn action that permits the reactor power level to decrease gradually as the fuel in the core is depleted.
• Cold shutdownThe term used to define a reactor coolant system at atmospheric pressure and at a temperature below 200...
• Collective doseAs defined in Title 10, Section 20.1003, of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR 20.1003), this is the sum...
• Combined licenseAn NRC-issued license that authorizes a licensee to construct and (with certain specified conditions) operate...
• Commercial IrradiatorA facility that uses high doses of radiation to sterilize or treat products, such as food and spices, medical...
• Commercial sector (energy users)Generally, nonmanufacturing business establishments, including hotels, motels, and restaurants; wholesalers...
• Committed dose equivalentAs defined in Title 10, Section 20.1003, of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR 20.1003), the CDE (HT,50)...
• Committed effective dose equivalentAs defined in Title 10, Section 20.1003, of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR 20.1003), the CEDE...
• CompactA group of two or more U.S. States that have formed alliances to dispose of low-level radioactive waste...
• CompoundA chemical combination of two or more elements combined in a fixed and definite proportion by weight.
• CondensateWater that has been produced by the cooling of steam in a condenser.
• CondenserA large heat exchanger designed to cool exhaust steam from a turbine below the boiling point so that it can...
• Configuration managementA discipline applying technical and administrative direction and surveillance to identify and document the...
• Construction recaptureThe maximum number of years that could be added to a facility's license expiration date to recapture the...
• Containment buildingThe air-tight building, which houses a nuclear reactor and its pressurizer, reactor coolant pumps, steam...
• Containment structureA gas-tight shell or other enclosure around a nuclear reactor to confine fission products that otherwise...
• ContaminationUndesirable radiological or chemical material (with a potentially harmful effect) that is either airborne or...
• Control rodA rod, plate, or tube containing a material such as hafnium, boron, etc., used to control the power of a...
• Control roomThe area in a nuclear power plant from which most of the plant's power production and emergency safety...
• Controlled areaAt a nuclear facility, an area outside a restricted area but within the site boundary, to which the licensee...
• CoolantA substance circulated through a nuclear reactor to remove or transfer heat. The most commonly used coolant...
• CooldownThe gradual decrease in reactor fuel rod temperature caused by the removal of heat from the reactor coolant...
• Cooling towerA heat exchanger designed to aid in the cooling of water that was used to cool exhaust steam exiting the...
• CoreThe central portion of a nuclear reactor, which contains the fuel assemblies, moderator, neutron poisons...
• Core damage frequencyAn expression of the likelihood that, given the way a reactor is designed and operated, an accident could...
• Core melt accidentAn event or sequence of events that result in the melting of part of the fuel in the reactor core.
• Cornerstone of SafetyNuclear plant activities that are essential for the safe operation of the facility. These cornerstones are...
• Corrective Action ProgramThe system by which a utility finds and fixes problems at the nuclear plant. It includes a process for...
• Cosmic radiationA source of natural background radiation, which originates in outer space and is composed of penetrating...
• CounterA general designation applied to radiation detection instruments or survey meters that detect and measure...
• Crack coalescenceThe combination of two cracks into one.
• Crack growthA process by which a crack becomes progressively longer or deeper.
• Crack initiationFormation of a crack before it is detectable by usual nondestructive examination techniques and before it can...
• Critical massThe smallest mass of fissionable material that will support a self-sustaining chain reaction.
• Critical organThat part of the body that is most susceptible to radiation damage under the specific conditions under...
• Critical ratioAn indication of how close a pipe is to rupture.
• CriticalityThe condition involving fission of nuclear materials when the number of neutrons produced equals or exceeds...
• Cross-cutting AreaNuclear plant activity that affects most or all safety cornerstones. These include the problem identification...
• CrudA colloquial term for corrosion and wear products (rust particles, etc.) that become radioactive (i.e...
• Cumulative doseThe total dose that an occupationally exposed worker receives as a result of repeated exposures to ionizing...
• CurieOne of three units used to measure the intensity of radioactivity in a sample of material. This value refers...

61 of 555 terms in Nuclear energy and radiation terminology (MLC-0119). Request the full dataset.