Nuclear energy comes from the nucleus of an atom. The source, or fuel, of nuclear energy is most

Attention Getter: When most people think of nuclear energy, the first thing that comes to their minds is a devastating bomb explosion or a nuclear power plant meltdown. But, in reality, nuclear energy is a sustainable energy source that has an enormous variety of uses.

There are problems with this reaction. All the fusion devices built so far use more

This powers generators. Fission also splits atom nuclei into small atoms but only big atoms like uranium and plutonium. The isotopes of these atoms really help for example uranium 235 and plutonium 239. They both have large nuclei when split. This will then cause it to release a lot of energy during this process, the more nuclei the more reaction there will be. This is also the process that power station use as well for chain

In the modern world, nuclear fission is the fundamental process of a nuclear bomb and nuclear reactor. The reaction produces a chain reaction of atom splitting that produces 24,000,000 kilowatts per hour of energy. On the other hand, nuclear fusion is a reaction where two or more nuclei come close enough to one another to create one or more atomic nuclei and subatomic nuclei. As a result, this reaction produces a massive amount of energy; fusion reaction is the energy source of the sun, the energy produced by fusion is the answer to why the sun is hot.

When a uranium nucleus splits, energy is released (as steam). This steam turns generators and creates electric energy. One pro is that nuclear fission does not release as many pollutants as fossil fuels. Two cons are that it nuclear waste is hard to dispose of and also can be harmful for humans.

Nuclear energy is gathered by the process of splitting uranium atoms. By splitting these atoms, there is some mass loss, and this mass can then be used as energy. This process is called fission. The heat from this fission is used to turn water into steam, and this steam turns the turbine generator in a reactor, which produces energy. Nuclear power plants have many advantages when compared to other renewable energy sources.

Nuclear fusion is a form of nuclear reaction which occurs when two or more atomic nuclei collide at a very high speed and as a result, join to form a new type of atomic nucleus. During this process, matter is not conserved because some of the mass of the fusing nuclei is converted into energy. Fusion is currently the process that powers active stars.

2. The sun is successful in providing energy via fusion reactions because its energy output comes from nuclear burning. Nuclear burning is the transformation of 4 million tons of matter into energy every second.

Unfortunately we cannot harness a sun and harvest it on earth for raw fusion energy.

Harnessing fusion would provide an environmentally friendly and almost limitless source of energy. b. Subpoint: Is fusion power

As the world becomes more aware of the growing need for a more abundant energy supply, one energy source has been swept under the carpet and virtually ignored. This source is cold fusion. Cold fusion is:

On 11 March 2011 in Japan, the Fukushima nuclear power plant was seriously damaged by an earthquake and the radioactive substances were leaked to the surrounding. Local people had to evacuate away and up till now they are living under threat.

Fusion energy provides many environmental benefits will make much more effective and other sources when we are able to achieve commercial fusion energy. Unfortunately, it is also plagued by some key limitations that prevent fusion from becoming a commercial success. Firstly, fusion energy is extremely costly with the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor(ITER) forecast to cost around 20 billion dollars , the US pumping 450 million dollars a year into the 3.5-billion-dollar National Ignition Facility(NIF) facility, the costs of fusion aren’t slowing down.

Scientists have been trying for many years to build nuclear reactors that would allow a sustained fusion reaction to occur. There are several factors that influence a fusion reaction. Since very high kinetic energies are needed for nuclei to fuse, the plasma in which fusion occurs is extremely hot. Temperatures in excess of 100 million degrees celsius are required for the easiest fusion reaction to take place. Plasmas are fluids, and therefore they have no permanent shape and will quickly disperse if not confined. A 100 million degree plasma will vaporise any container in which it is placed, so magnetic fields are used to contain the plasma.

Nuclear fission can be either a nuclear reaction or a radioactive decay process in which the nucleus of an atom splits into smaller parts (lighter nuclei) often producing free neutrons and photons, which are in the form of gamma rays. This releases an extremely large amount of energy. The two nuclei produced are usually similar sizes, though slightly different (usual mass ratio is about 3 to 2), for common fissile isotopes. Most fissions produce two charged fragments (known as a binary fission), but sometimes three positively charged fragments are produced (ternary fission). In a ternary fission, the size of the smallest fragment can be anywhere between the size of a proton to the size of an argon nucleus. When producing nuclear energy/power in a reactor,