When it comes to power generation, nuclear isn’t all that different from coal or gas: heat is used to produce steam, and steam spins a turbine to generate electricity. What truly sets nuclear apart, however, is neutronics. Neutronix Energy, in that sense, conveys a singular idea—energy generated through neutronics, i.e., the interactions of neutrons within a nuclear system.
How neutronics introduces entirely new dimensions to what would otherwise be a largely civil-mechanical project is something we’ll explore in more detail later. For now, let’s pause for something more personal.
The Neutron
From the very moment I decided to found a nuclear startup, one thing was absolutely certain—the word neutron had to be in the name. Sure, it makes our mission clear. But more importantly, I’ve always felt a sacred duty to give the “neutral” guy his moment. If it weren’t for the neutron, nuclear energy wouldn’t exist as we know it.
In 1905, Albert Einstein showed that mass and energy are interchangeable through his famous equation, E = mc². But no one—not even Einstein—believed the equation would ever have real-world application. In fact, many of the greatest physicists of the time flat-out dismissed the idea that we could ever tap into atomic energy:
“Anyone who expects a source of power from the transformation of atoms is talking moonshine.”
—Ernest Rutherford
“There is no likelihood man can ever tap the power of the atom. The glib supposition of utilizing atomic energy when our coal has run out is a completely unscientific utopian dream.”
—Robert Millikan
“There is not the slightest indication that nuclear energy will ever be achievable.”
—Albert Einstein
For once—thanks to the neutron—Einstein was wrong.
Nearly three decades later, in 1932, James Chadwick was trying to make sense of a strange kind of radiation coming from beryllium when it was bombarded with alpha particles. What he found instead was a neutral subatomic particle, which he named the neutron.
After Chadwick’s discovery, Enrico Fermi and his team jumped in and began systematically bombarding all kinds of elements with neutrons. (Because neutrons do not carry net electric charge, they could slip into atomic nuclei far more easily than protons or alpha particles.) When Fermi bombarded uranium, he noticed odd radioactive products that didn’t seem to make sense. Otto Hahn and Fritz Strassmann took that puzzle further and eventually concluded that the uranium nucleus had actually split.
At the time, no one thought such a thing was possible. Lise Meitner teamed up with her nephew Otto Frisch to explain what had happened. Not only did they describe the fission process, but they also calculated the enormous energy released—perfectly in line with Einstein’s E = mc². Borrowing the term from cell division in biology, Frisch called it “fission.” And just like that, the nuclear age had begun.
Neutronics: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
A nuclear project is really a combination of many disciplines—civil, mechanical, chemical, and electrical. Add neutronics to the mix, and now you have a nuclear project with unique benefits and challenges.
The Good
Without neutrons, we would not have been able to harness the energy of atoms. There would be no chain reactions, no reactors, no bombs (and to be clear—nuclear bombs should not exist).
The Bad
When a uranium nucleus fissions, it releases fast neutrons traveling at around 70,000,000 km/h—roughly 7% the speed of light. And, for the record, even “slow” thermal neutrons traveling at about 8,000 km/h aren’t exactly slow. At these energies, neutrons can damage materials by knocking atoms out of place, creating vacancies (empty lattice sites) and interstitials (atoms forced into the wrong positions). Together, these form Frenkel pairs (a vacancy–interstitial pair). These defects can contribute to material degradation, including a sharp drop in thermal conductivity in materials due to a drastic reduction in the phonon mean free path. This can raise core-component temperatures and reduce reactor safety margins. In graphite, a common reactor material, irradiation defects can also store strain energy known as Wigner energy. During the 1957 Windscale fire, a heating operation intended to release this stored energy became uncontrolled, leading to the fire. Over time, irradiation defects can also alter the material’s crystal structure and mechanical properties, causing effects such as hardening, embrittlement, and dimensional changes. Under certain conditions, vacancies can cluster into voids and cause swelling, while reactions such as (n,p) and (n,α) can produce hydrogen and helium gas bubbles, further contributing to swelling and embrittlement.
And sometimes, the damage isn’t just physical. During the final rounds of modeling and simulation for my PhD research, I forgot to update the thermal conductivity of the cladding material to reflect its degradation under neutron irradiation. As a result, I had to rerun all the simulations—and yes, it degraded my graduation timeline.
The Ugly
During reactor operation, neutrons can leak from the core and damage surrounding materials and biological tissue. This type of radiation, known as neutron radiation, is primarily a concern while the reactor is operating.
When a uranium (U-235) nucleus inside the reactor absorbs a neutron, it can become unstable and split into fission products, releasing energy and radiation. But uranium isn’t the only one—many other elements can absorb neutrons too. In many of those cases, fission doesn’t occur, but the absorbing nucleus becomes radioactive, and the activated material then emits radiation. As a result, radiation comes not just from the fuel but also from the reactor’s structural materials and coolant, and not just from an operating reactor but also from one that has been shut down. This is one of the reasons nuclear energy is uniquely challenging. A significant share of nuclear plant design and cost goes into radiation protection. Licensing is long, complicated, and expensive, and nuclear waste becomes a long-term headache.
While radiation-related deaths from nuclear energy is minuscule (nuclear power has one of the lowest death rates per unit of electricity generated), fear of nuclear power persists, largely because of the radiation hazard. And I don’t think that fear is entirely irrational, given the potential it has for harm. It’s a bit like the fear surrounding artificial intelligence—maybe we’ll never see a Skynet scenario, but the fact that the technology could do that demands caution and responsibility.
The Genius
After everything we've discussed—the science, the complexity, the fear, and the potential—it's worth stepping back and appreciating the neutron for what it truly represents. Neutrons might seem unremarkable at first glance—they don’t carry charge, they don’t interact electromagnetically, and on their own, they don’t grab much attention. But in the right context, this quiet, neutral particle unlocked the power of the atom and changed the course of human history. It reminds me of that widely misattributed Einstein quote:
“Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing it is stupid.'”
On a philosophical level, the neutron has proven that to be true.