What is Nuclear Power? Essays

Nuclear energy is the world's largest source of emission-free energy. Nuclear power plants produce no controlled air pollutants, such as sulfur and particulates, or greenhouse gases. "Renewables" like solar, wind and biomass can help. But only nuclear power offers clean, environmentally friendly energy on a massive scale. The use of nuclear energy in place of other energy sources helps to keep the air clean, preserve the Earth's climate, avoid ground-level ozone formation and prevent acid rain. “Currently, there are 103 commercial nuclear power plants producing electricity in the United States, located at 64 sites in 31 states. They are, on average, 24 years old, and

Nuclear energy is defined as energy released by reactions within atomic nuclei, as in nuclear fission or fusion (“Dictionary”). Nuclear fission is defined as a nuclear reaction in which a massive nucleus splits into smaller nuclei with the simultaneous release of energy. The definition of nuclear fission is as reaction in which two nuclei combine to form a nucleus with the release of energy (“Dictionary”). The process of nuclear fission and fusion happen inside of a nuclear reactor that is located in a nuclear power plant. Also needing to be defined, a nuclear reactor is a device in which nuclear fission initiates a controlled chain reaction, producing heat energy typically used for power generation, and neutrons and fission products (“Dictionary”). It is also important to know that there are a few different kinds of nuclear reactors. The different kind of reactors include: pressurized water reactors, boiling water reactors, gas-cooled reactors, and light water graphite reactors (Blau 117). Finally, a nuclear power plant is a facility for the production of electricity using

Radiation (also known as nuclear radiation) refers to particles or waves emitted by radioactive substance. Nuclear radiation comes from the waves from a nucleus. Ionising radiation can

Radioactivity is when energy is emitted from the nucleus due to the nucleus being unstable. The 3 types of radiation are Alpha ,Beta and gamma. Alpha particles have 2 protons and two neutrons. Examples of radioactive nuclei that emit alpha radiation. Are : uranium, thorium, actinium, and radium They are very ionising so they give energy off onto whatever they are in contact with. Therefore, it loses energy more quickly. They are not very penetrating so can be stopped by a piece of paper or skin. Beta particles have 1

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 energy is only one energy source. Others include: Coal, Hydropower, Wind power, Geothermal, Biomass, Natural Gas, Petroleum. Fossil fuels(Natural gas, petroleum, coal) are made by burning organic elements. In simpler form, rocks, plants and animals are burned to create the fossil fuels.

Beta radiation is an electron with the charge of -1. Its atomic number is -1 and atomic mass is 0. It is more penetrating than alpha radiation plus, has a less ionising power than alpha. It absorbed by thin aluminium sheet and used to control the thickness of different material such as thickness of the paper, plastic and aluminium. They use a detector to check if there is more or less particle being released or absorb. If the material is thicker then it need to the material will start to absorb the particle however if the material is too thin more beta particle will start to pass through, that’s how they finds out the thickness of the material. It is not very dangerous if it goes into our body because it usually get through the body, however it is very dangerous if it outside the body because it can penetrate the skin and cause damage to human cells. It is deflected by electrical and magnetic field because it has negative charge as I said positive and negative attract to each other.

Creating nuclear power is a complex process that takes a lot of resources and has little room for error. The uranium, which is the main element of choice for this process, is turned into pellets, and then rods which are bundled together. The bundles are then submerged in water to keep them cool, otherwise they would overheat and eventually melt. To prevent overheating, a control rod is placed in the bundles to absorb the neutrons given off. The bundles of uranium are very high sources of heat. The rods heat the water, which evaporates and the steam then turns a turbine to create energy. If the core were to get too hot, it can go into meltdown. A meltdown is when a nuclear core becomes too hot and begins to melt, causing the core to send out

Nuclear energy powers just about 20% of the United States. The United States holds only 100 of the reactors out of the 400 that are in the world. Even though a reactor does not put any pollutants in the air it still creates nuclear waste. Nuclear fission use uranium and plutonium and turn them into smaller atoms. When splitting atoms you have to hit it with a neutron. When split several atoms can be split like a chain reaction.

Most power plants burn coal, oil, or natural gas to turn water into steam. This steam make a turbine rotate which produces electricity. In a nuclear power plant, atoms are split creating heat to turn the turbine. Other power plants create many greenhouse gases, while nuclear power plants only release carbon dioxide. There are 100 commercial nuclear reactors in the U.S., these reactors account for about 20% of the nation's total electricity. There are 7,577 other power plants ( thermal, hydro-electric, geothermal, and wind power plants) not including nuclear power plants in the U.S. alone. These power plants - talk about pollution -emit carbon dioxide, ammonia, methane gas, boron, decrease oxygen supply, displace animals, and many other things.

This type of radiation is found in heavy elements. The charge of Alpha is positive 2. The mass is 4 atoms. Alpha particle can be stopped by thin paper. The ionizing power for this particle is strong because the charge is positive 2.

Nuclear power produces huge amount of energy through nuclear fission. 1 ton of uranium fuel, which is used as a fuel in generating electricity, equals to 50,000 tons of fossil fuels for generating the same amount of electricity. Since a small amount of nuclear fuel can produce a large amount of energy, it is powerful and efficient.

The process of nuclear energy is very confusing. It all starts at the earth's crust where the uranium is mined. Uranium is an nonrenewable resource. The uranium is taken to a power plant. Every nuclear power power plants uses fission. Fission is the process of splitting atoms into two. The difference between fission and fusion is that, fission splits atoms, and fusion combines atoms. Since all the power is stored in the nucleus of an atom, when the atoms split they release strong amounts of energy and heat. Although there

Radiation can cause a great deal of damage to living cells and the DNA inside a nucleus, and if the DNA becomes greatly damaged, that is when it becomes cancerous. Exposure to high amounts of radiation can significantly increase the risk of developing cancer. Alpha, beta and gamma radiation are the 3 different forms of radiation, and all are dangerous to humans and the environment. Although Alpha radiation cannot penetrate the skin, if a particle emitting alpha radiation is inhaled or eaten, it can do significant damage to the cells in internal organs. Beta and gamma radiation have strong enough wavelengths to penetrate the skin and damage cells inside the

Nuclear energy is energy generated from the fission or fusion of enriched uranium. The power plants in which this type of energy is made are called nuclear power plants, but have many variations in how this energy is achieved. Almost all reactors use heat generated from the enriched uranium pellets to bring water to a boil, and use steam powered generators to create power. In Canada, the type of reactor used is called a Pressurized Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR), a method created by Canada in the 1950’s. In the next sections the inner workings of the PHWR method will be examined and its safety explained.