User:Nima.babaahmadi

Power Summary 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 nuc lear power plants for engines. How it Works Nuclear power stations work in pretty much the same way as fossil fuel-burning s tations, 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 is pumped through the reactor to take the heat away, and the hot gas then heats water to make steam. The steam drives turbines which drive generators. Modern nuclear power stations use the same type of turbines and generators as conventional power stations. Advantages Disadvantages Nuclear power costs about the same as coal, so it's not Although not much waste is produced, it is very, very expensive to mak e. dangerous. It must be sealed up and buried for many years to allow Does not produce smoke or carbon dioxide, so it does the radioactivity to die away. not contribute to the greenhouse effect. Nuclear power is reliable, but a lot of money has to be Produces huge amounts of energy from small amounts spent on safety - if it does go wrong, a nuclear accident of fuel. can be a major disaster. poeple are increasingly concerned about this - in the 1990's nuclear power was Produces small amounts of waste. the fastest-growing source of power in much of the world. Now, in 2005 it's the second slowes t-growing. Nuclear power is reliable.

Nuclear energy originates from the splitting of uranium atoms in a process called fission. Fission releases energy that can be used to make steam, which is used in a turbine to generate electricity. Nuclear power accounts for approximately 20 percent of the United States' electricity production. More than 100 nuclear generating units are currently in operation in the United States.1 	Uranium is a non-renewable resource that cannot be replenished on a human time scale. Uranium is extracted from the earth through traditional mining techniques or chemical leaching. Once mined, the uranium ore is sent to a processing plant to be concentrated into enriched fuel (i.e., uranium oxide pellets). Enriched fuel is then transported to the nuclear power plant. 	In the plant’s nuclear reactor, neutrons from uranium atoms collide with each other, releasing heat and neutrons in a chain reaction. This heat is used to generate steam, which powers a turbine to generate electricity. Nuclear power generates a number of radioactive by-products, including tritium, cerium, krypton, neptunium and forms of iodine.