Nuclear Fission Research Paper

The first introduction to nuclear energy was in 1938 when German scientists Otto Hahn and Fritz Strassman, along with Lise Meitner, discovered they could split the nucleus of a uranium atom. This process was later known as fission. In 1942, Italian physicist Enrico Fermi and several other physicists made another discovery regarding nuclear fission. They discovered that the fission of a Uranium atom gave off more neutrons; which could then be split into other Uranium atoms, thus starting a self sustaining chain-reaction. This lead to the discovery of nuclear fission, the process used to obtain nuclear energy. Otto Hahn received the Noble Peace Prize for his discovery of nuclear fission, and Fermi later received the Nobel Piece Prize for his

In order to do this a process called nuclear fission needs to happen. This is where the nucleus of an atom is split in order to release energy. Nuclear fission begins with the nucleus splitting into several small fragments, known as “nuclear products” (“Nuclear Energy”, www.nationalgeographic.com). Nuclear products are half of the original mass of the nucleus. These nuclear products, or fission products, cause other atoms to split. The energy that is released from the splitting of the nucleus, creates heat. This heat then warms the cooling agent, which is usually water but can be various other things. The reaction between the heat and the cooling agent produces steam, which turns the turbines. These turbines power generators which create the electricity or energy which can be used for everyday life. Nuclear fission is the most common way to obtain nuclear energy. (“Nuclear Energy”,

All of these costs eventually add up. Building the nuclear power plant itself if extremely costly. It costs an estimated 6 to 9 billion dollars for each power plant, far more expensive then the industry had first expected. However, obtaining the energy itself is actually cheap. It costs only 2 cents per kilowatt per hour. Scientists are still in the process of trying to find cheaper ways to build these power plants. Nuclear energy has been around for only the last 100 years, which is why many people are apprehensive to use it compared to the more generic fossil fuels. One major difference between nuclear and fossil energy, is that there is a greater risk of potential and serious accidents when dealing with nuclear energy versus regular fossil fuels. A positive differences is that there is less risk for air pollution with nuclear energy than fossil fuels. It is hard to state which option is better because everyone has their own opinion and there own views on the pro’s and con’s of