What is Nuclear Energy?
Nuclear energy originates from the splitting of
uranium atoms in a process called fission. At the power plant, the
fission process is used to generate heat for producing steam, which is
used by a turbine to generate electricity.
Nuclear power is generated using Uranium, which
is a metal mined in various parts of the world.
The first large-scale nuclear power station opened
at Calder Hall in Cumbria, England, in 1956.
Some military ships and submarines have nuclear power
plants for engines.
Nuclear power produces around 11% of the world's energy
needs, and produces huge amounts of energy from small amounts of
fuel, without the pollution that you'd get from burning fossil fuels.
Nuclear power stations work in pretty much
the same way as fossil fuel-burning stations, except that a "chain
reaction" inside a nuclear reactor makes the heat instead.
The reactor uses Uranium rods as fuel, and the
heat is generated by nuclear fission: neutrons smash into
the nucleus of the uranium atoms, which split roughly in half and
release energy in the form of heat.
Carbon dioxide gas or water is pumped through
the reactor to take the heat away, this then heats water to make
steam.
The steam drives turbines
which drive generators.
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Modern nuclear power stations use the same type of turbines
and generators as conventional power stations.
In Britain, nuclear power stations are often
built on the coast, and use sea water for cooling the steam ready to be
pumped round again. This means that they don't have the huge "cooling
towers" seen at other power stations.
The reactor is controlled with "control
rods", made of boron, which absorb neutrons. When the rods are lowered
into the reactor, they absorb more neutrons and the fission process slows
down. To generate more power, the rods are raised and more neutrons can
crash into uranium atoms.
by sanjay kv
sanjay.kanakkot@gmail.com
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