Power up your learning with free MIT courses on nuclear science

This Nuclear Science Week, explore the physics, sustainability, and history of nuclear energy.

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By Katherine Ouellette

How do we meet global energy needs while protecting our planet from climate change? Some scientists are looking to carbon-free power sources. For Nuclear Science Week this Oct. 21–25, explore the physics, sustainability, and history of this energy through free online courses and resources from MIT Open Learning.

Nuclear science and engineering

• Nuclear Energy: Science, Systems, and Society (course): Dive into the basic physics of nuclear energy and radiation, focusing on the unique attributes and challenges of nuclear energy as a low-carbon solution.
• Nuclear Energy: Science, Systems, and Society (seminar): In this companion seminar to the course by the same name, communicate the new knowledge and perspective you just learned by writing an Op-Ed piece.
• General Chemistry I: Atoms, Molecules, and Bonding: Explore the world at the molecular level through chemical structure and bonding from a quantum mechanical perspective.
• Introduction to Nuclear Engineering and Ionizing Radiation: Understand the basics of nuclear science and its engineering applications. Watch the lecture videos.
• Materials in Nuclear Engineering: Understand how materials behave in nuclear systems, with a focus on radiation damage and effects in fuels and structural materials.
• Engineering of Nuclear Reactors: Explore the engineering principles of nuclear reactors, covering power plant thermodynamics, reactor heat generation and removal, structural mechanics, and other design considerations.
• Atomic and Optical Physics: Learn the foundations of contemporary research in atomic and optical physics, including the quantum-mechanical behavior of atoms and photons.
• Principles of Plasma Diagnostics: Learn the physical processes used to measure the properties of plasmas.

Nuclear energy

• Sustainable Energy: Find out how to critically analyze modern energy technologies from engineering and socio-political perspectives.
• Energy Economics and Policy: Explore the economics of real-world energy markets and how policies can address energy’s impact on the environment and climate.
• Resolving Renewable Energy Siting Disputes: Discover how to build consensus around resolving opposition to renewable energy facilities across the United States.

History

• Nuclear Weapons — History and Future Prospects: Learn about the history of nuclear weapons and efforts to control their threat; the physics, structure, and evolution of these weapons; and possible futures.
• “The Greatest Existential Threat:” Hear about the importance of nuclear weapons education for everyday citizens and the planet from the instructors of the Nuclear Weapons — History and Future Prospects course on this episode of MIT OpenCourseWare’s Chalk Radio podcast.
• Reducing the Danger of Nuclear Weapons and Proliferation: Gain an interdisciplinary understanding of the history and modern climate of nuclear weapons and non-proliferation policy.
• The Politics of Nuclear Proliferation: Nuclear History, Strategy, and Statecraft: Explore the politics and theories surrounding the proliferation of nuclear weapons, including deterrence theory.
• The United States in the Nuclear Age: Examine how the Cold War fundamentally altered American politics and social life in addition to contributing rapid technological experimentation and scientific innovation.

These courses and resources are available through MIT OpenCourseWare and MITx, which are part of MIT Open Learning. OpenCourseWare offers free, online, open educational resources from more than 2,500 courses that span the MIT undergraduate and graduate curriculum. MITx offers high-quality massive open online courses adapted from the MIT classroom for learners worldwide.