Which areas of nuclear power can students learn about in your laboratory?

At my laboratory, we study a field within nuclear power called the nuclear fuel cycle. The process of assembling uranium fuel and putting it in a nuclear reactor, then later reprocessing the spent fuel and turning it into a fuel again, is called the nuclear fuel cycle, and that is what we research in my laboratory. While nuclear frisson of uranium reaches only about 0.7% in nature, it must be condensed to more than 3% when using it in a reactor. Moreover, there are two types of uranium fuel. One is capable of frisson and the other is not, but they are actually the same element. One must distinguish between their differences to separate these subtle variations and condense the right one. We conduct an experiment using a laser for this separation. There are electrons circling around a nucleus, and their orbits change according to the size of the nucleus. Thus, one can control them using a corresponding laser. Several tons of uranium is required when it is used for uranium fuel or for a nuclear reactor. I find it very interesting, in terms of engineering that such a large amount of uranium can be distinguished by a slight difference in the way electrons circulate. One of our future research themes is to see if it is possible to apply this interaction between lasers and matter to fields other than nuclear reactors. For instance, there is the problem of released radioactive material from the Fukushima nuclear power station accident. Lasers could be used to measure these materials. Using lasers to estimate what is inside the melted and accumulated fuel inside the Fukushima power station, remote analysis would be possible. Moreover, if it becomes possible to control individual atoms, applications such as obtaining quantum-mechanical quantum information or quantum communication may be realized. I would like our research to contribute to these cutting-edge innovations.