Nuclear technology is widely used in modern day society, ranging from simple smoke detector to more sophisticated PET scan medical equipment.  Also, nuclear energy is considered as the only non-greenhouse gas-emitting power source that can effectively replace fossil fuels and satisfy global energy demand. The key element of all these different applications is radiation. Radiation has led to the creation of many useful applications and hence brings many business and career opportunities. However, like many great inventions, it also comes with its risks and controversies.  Through examples commonly found in our daily life and visits to some relevant organisations such as Daya-Bay Nuclear Power Station, this course help students from different disciplines, including business, law and social science students, to appreciate the pros and cons of nuclear technology.  It will also facilitate students to recognise the opportunities and the risks associated with the nuclear technology in order to benefit their own future careers.

This course aims to introduce the roles of nuclear technology in the modern society. Some typical examples will be used to illustrate how the nuclear technology can be used to enhance our quality of life.  Students will also learn the brief history of nuclear technology and the issues of nuclear proliferation.  As Hong Kong is using over 23% nuclear energy, and 77 new reactors are under construction and planned in mainland China, the course will discuss why nuclear energy is essential for modern society, even after several severe nuclear accidents in the past. The course is designed to help students to appreciate the basic principles of nuclear energy generation, radiation, medical radiation, radiation protection, nuclear safety, nuclear waste, maintenance engineering, risk engineering, crisis management, nuclear controversy and nanotechnology for nuclear applications.  Through real-life examples, aforementioned topics and fieldtrips, students would be able to comprehend the opportunities and also the risks associated with the technology in modern society.

For a student to pass the course, at least 30% of the maximum mark for both coursework and examination should be obtained.

Group Report

Students are required to work in teams to complete a mini-project. The topic of the mini-project is chosen by the students themselves on any related fields. The findings of the mini-projects will be presented in the form of a Microsoft Word file. Relevant pictures, texts, newspaper articles, technical drawings, etc can be included in the Word file to demonstrate their understanding on the subject matters. Each group's Group Report will be assessed at the end of the semester. However, students are required to make frequent oral presentations about their mini-project and formative feedback will be given to students about their performance and areas which can be strengthened.

Oral Presentations

Oral presentation will be conducted to allow students to present their mini-project results, and radiation measurement and related experiments. The presentation will be in the form group presentation but each student is required to present part of the findings or results.

Radiation Measurement & Related Experiment

Students are required to submit a group report on radiation measurement and related experiments. The report includes two parts: (1) background radiation by Geiger counter and (2) theme research using XRF (X-Ray Fluorescence) Analyzer.

Possible Fieldtrips & Technical Visit(s)

Relevant technical visits will be arranged to allow students to appreciate how the nuclear technology is being used in modern day society. After the visit(s), students will be asked to do , discussion or essay about the technical visit(s). For those students who cannot attend the visits, they will need to submit a longer essay on the related topics.

If field trips cannot be organized due to unexpected circumstances, other self-learning activities can be adopted instead, such as:

- writing an essay on a related topic

- making a video clip introducing a related topic on Youtube or Facebook or Instagram or TikTok

- making a storyboard for introducing a related topic to primary or secondary school students

- making a presentation on a related topic, etc

All assessment tasks will be marked according to the performance assessment rubric.

Examination

Examination will be conducted to assess the students' basic factual knowledge on the subject matters.