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The Pros And Cons Of Nuclear Energy

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First we have to ask ourselves what is nuclear energy? It is the energy that is released during a nuclear reaction. A nuclear reaction releases the nuclear forces that bind the center of an atom together; fission and fusion are the only two methods of releasing the nuclear energy. Today's nuclear power plants use fission to produce energy, which allows them to generate electricity on a large scale. Fission is a nuclear reaction that results in the splitting of an atom. Nuclear energy uses fuel made from mined and processed uranium to make steam and generate electricity. Uranium is a naturally occurring semi-radioactive element. Uranium-235 is an isotope found as approximately 0.7 percent of natural uranium. Uranium-235 can undergo fission, making …show more content…

The fuel as stated before is uranium 235 and it is manufactured into small round fuel pellets. A single pellet is less than an inch long, but produces the energy equivalent to a metric ton of coal. The pellets are lined up to end-to-end into fuel rods that are about 12 feet long. Over 200 of these rods are grouped into what is known as the reactor vessel. The process of producing electricity begins when uranium atoms are split via fission by particles known as neutrons. Uranium 235 breaks apart when it collides with a neutron witch make it easy to split and make energy. Once an atom of uranium 235 is split, neutrons from the uranium atom are free to collide with other uranium 235 atoms creating a chain reaction producing enormous amounts of heat. This reaction is controlled by the control rods which absorb neutrons being released. The Control rods are inserted among the fuel assembly rods that hold the uranium pellets. When the rods are in place, they absorb the atomic particles that would normally initiate the chain reaction. These are used to regulate the fission process when the rods are lifted away from the uranium filled rods it allows for fission

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Conversely, fission occurs when a neutron collides with an isotope like uranium-235 (U-235). Which, creates heat, breaks U-235 down into smaller isotopes, and allows another neutron to collides with another U-235 molecule to start the chain reaction (Duke Energy, 2013). Therefore, fission is what currently fuels nuclear energy, with U-235 being the most common isotope (Duke Energy, 2013). Subsequently, there is a misconception on how nuclear fuel is used to generate electricity.

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Plutonium-239 is virtually nonexistent in nature. It is made by bombarding uranium-238 with neutrons in a nuclear reactor. Uranium-238 is present in quantity in most reactor fuel; hence, plutonium-239 is continuously made in these reactors. Since plutonium-239 can itself be split by neutrons to release energy, plutonium-239 provides a portion of the energy generation in a nuclear reactor. Plutonium belongs to the class of elements called transuranic elements whose atomic number is higher than 92, the atomic number of uranium.

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Nuclear fission, the process that takes place inside a nuclear power plant, actually produces 10 million times the amount of energy produced by fossil fuels. That’s more energy for less money! Nuclear energy has been used for more than just electricity as well. Its uses involve medical research equipment, industrial equipment, scientific neutron beams, and nuclear weapons. People say that nuclear energy is responsible for the atomic bomb and the hydrogen bomb which can wreak havoc on a large scale, like desolating a country, to a small scale, like altering DNA.

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An isotope is an element with a different number of neutrons in its nucleus. Countless variations of isotopes exist in the world with various applications in different fields. One such isotope is Uranium 235 which is most known for its use in the Uranium Bomb, a massive bomb capable of destroying entire cities. It is found naturally in the environment and can be made from U238.

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This requires additional energy and therefore uranium was chosen as the chief nuclear fuel. To begin the chain-reaction, a neutron is added to thorium-232 (the most common isotope of thorium) and it becomes thorium-233. This quickly decays into protactinium-233 and this in turn decays to become uranium-233. As this isotope of uranium is fissile, the chain-reaction will begin and energy will be released

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Nuclear Energy Nuclear energy results from mass-to-energy conversions that occur in the separation of atoms larger than Iron or combining atoms smaller than Iron. The slight amount of mass that is lost from either the separation or combination follows the Einstein’s mass energy relation E= mc2 where m is defined as the mass and c is the speed of light. How is Nuclear Energy Created? Nuclear energy is created either from the Fusion or Fission of atoms.

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How is uranium used and is it cost effective, well uranium is mined not created so before its fuel its in the earth. Mines all around dig up uranium. After it is mined it gets enriched with heavy water 2H2O water with a little more hydrogen. Then it its molded into uranium pellets which are then loaded into rods and then loaded into a nuclear reactor. But nuclear energy not the only use uranium is also used in atomic weapons, but after WWII Hiroshima they are illegal to use in a war.

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However a lot needs to be considered. How The Nuclea Power Station Works Fig 1; Chernobyl plant Source: OECD NEA 1. Fuel from uranium is filled into the reactor, and in its core, the atoms

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When Tottenham Hotspur won the Double in 1960-61, there were arguably no better players in the world at that moment. Bill Nicholson however, thought differently. He always sensed a room for improvement, and thus wanted an injection of pace and skill in the team. He found his answer in James Peter Greaves, the greatest forward in the history of British football.

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What is the one thing that is growing higher and higher in demand as our world’s population continues to grow? Clean, renewable, and cheap energy is the answer. Thus many countries are turning to nuclear energy for a temporary fix. Nuclear energy is energy that is released when a nuclear reaction occurs. There are advantages and disadvantages to converting this type of energy to electrical energy, but that does not stop it from being a growing trend in the energy community.

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Nuclear energy is a kind of new technology in order to boil water to make steam to drive turbines which

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Those 2.4 fast neutrons created through each reaction require a moderator to control the neutron’s energy. Once the uranium is split into two smaller molecules, energy is produced in the form of radiation, which heats the surrounding water, and a tube pumps the steam into a turbine. Once in the turbine, the steam then moves to a generator to create harnessable energy. All the energy resources are naturally occurring and the only intensive component is the use of water, which recirculates through many plants. The waste of nuclear energy is the byproduct of too little water, the plant’s primary cooling element, which then opens up the possibility for a nuclear meltdown.

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In this diagram, a neutron is absorbed by a uranium-235 nucleus, as a result, it turns of a small period of time to an excited uranium-236 nucleus, with the excitation energy provided by the kinetic energy of the neutron plus the forces that bind to the neutron. The uranium-236 then splits into two, smaller, lighter, fast-moving elements (these are known as fission products) and releases three free neutrons as well as gamma rays. Fusion and fission are nuclear reactions. Fusion is the binding of two atoms to produce a heavier atom while fission is splitting of an atom. Fusion releases more energy than fission and powers the stars.

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Nuclear power is the use of nuclear reactions that release nuclear energy to generate heat, which is most used in steam turbines to produce electricity in a nuclear power reactors. There are 99 commercial nuclear reactors in operation in US now and two-thirds of the reactors are pressurized water reactors. ("How Nuclear Power Works.") In the pressurized water reactors, the core water is held under pressure and the heat is transferred to water outside the core, boiling the outside water, generating steam, and powering a turbine. After the steam is used to power the turbine, it is cooled off to make it condense back into water.

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Nuclear energy is something that we`ve all heard about. It carries risk and potential. When an atom (Uranium and Plutonium in nuclear power plants) is bombarded by neutrons, it can be split, causing fission. This fission releases more neutrons, which causes a chain reaction. Nuclear power plants use this use the heat that is created by fission to heat water that spins their turbines (“Nuclear Energy”).

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