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The Pros And Cons Of Nuclear Power

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It is not entirely possible for an energy source to be perfect. Nuclear power is a topic that is widely talked about and there are many different levels that it can be approached on. The essay will look into both positives and negatives of Nuclear power and how Nuclear power is the use of exothermic nuclear processes to generate electricity and heat. It is the energy in the nucleus of an atom. Nuclear power can be used to produce electricity, but before this the energy has to be released from the atom. The nuclear energy comes from splitting atoms in a process called fission. A nuclear reactor can control nuclear fission to produce electricity. In the nuclear reactor the atoms are forced apart and as they split, they release very small particles called fission products. These products cause other atoms to split, which starts a chain reaction and creates heat. The heat created will warm the cooling agent, (normally water) and produce steam, which turns the turbines. The turbines drive engines that will create electricity. In figure 1, one can see the process of creating electricity in a nuclear plant. The isotope which fissions the easiest is called Uranium-235 (Marshall Brain, Robert Lamb). The first man who helped discovere nuclear energy was a physicist called Enrico Fermi, who …show more content…

They give out a radiation from the unstable nucleus that decays. Atoms containing an unstable nucleus regain balance by getting rid of the radioactive energy. The radiation the nucleus emits are called alpha, beta and gamma. The decaying process of each type of radioisotope is different and is measured in durations of time called a half-life. Radioisotopes are used in industries such as measuring the thickness of a material, in scientific research such as outlining the course of pollutants in living systems and in standard medicine for more than 30 years,

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