What is Nuclear Energy ?

Three major accidents have occurred in commercial power plants: Chernobyl, Three Mile Island, and Fukushima

Nuclear energy is energy in the nucleus (core) of an atom. Atoms are tiny particles that make up every object in the universe.

There is enormous energy in the bonds that hold atoms together

Chernobyl was an uncontrolled steam explosion which released a large amount of radiation into the environment, killing over 50 people, requiring a mass evacuation of hundreds of thousands of people, and causing up to 4000 cancer cases.

Nuclear energy can be used to make electricity. But first the energy must be released. It can be released from atoms in two ways: nuclear fusion and nuclear fission. In nuclear fusion, energy is released when atoms are combined or fused together to form a larger atom.

Three Mile Island was a partial-core meltdown, where coolant levels dropped below the fuel and allowed some of it to melt. No one was hurt and very little radiation was released, but the plant had to close,

causing the operating company and its investors to lose a lot of money. Fukushima was a station black-out caused by a huge Tsunami.

This is how the sun produces energy. In nuclear fission, atoms are split apart to form smaller atoms, releasing energy. Nuclear power plants use nuclear fission to produce electricity.

Four neighboring plants lost cooling and the decay heat melted the cores. Radiation was released and the public was evacuated. These three accidents are very scary and keep many people from being comfortable with nuclear power.

Nuclear reactions involve changes in an atom’s nucleus and thus causes a change in the atom itself. Unlike normal chemical reactions that form molecules, nuclear reactions result in the transmutation of one element into a different isotope or a different element altogether.

Nuclear power plants are larger and more complicated than other power plants. Many redundant safety systems are built to keep the plant operating safely.

There are two types of nuclear reactions. The first is the radioactive decay of bonds within the nucleus that emit radiation as it decays or transforms to a more stable state. The second is the “billiard ball” type of reactions, where the nucleus or a nuclear particle (like a proton) is slammed into by another nucleus or nuclear particle.

This complexity causes the up-front cost of a nuclear power plant to be much higher than for a comparable coal plant.

Nuclear damage is explained as any injury to or the death, sickness or disease of a person; or damage to the environment including loss of property which arises from ionising radiation associated with a nuclear installation, nuclear vessel or handling of radioactive materials.

Once the plant is built, the fuel costs are much less than fossil fuel costs. In general, the older a nuclear plant gets, the more money its operators make.

The large capital cost keeps many investors from agreeing to finance nuclear power plants.

Nuclear safety means the achievement of safe operating conditions, prevention of nuclear accidents or mitigation of nuclear accident consequences, resulting in the protection of workers, the public and the environment against the potential harmful effects of ionizing radiation or radioactive material.

Nuclear energy is the energy stored in the nucleus of an atom. It can be used to produce electricity.

But, before it can used, it must be released. The enormous energy that is stored in the bonds that hold atoms together can be released by two processes:

nuclear fission or nuclear fusion. In nuclear fission, atoms are split to form smaller atoms, releasing energy whereas in nuclear fusion atoms are combined or fused to form a larger atom. This is how the sun produces energy.

The process to produce electricity from nuclear reactor is similar to most types of reactor.

The only difference is that “chain reaction” is used to produce the heat. Nuclear power plants use nuclear fission to produce electricity.

A nuclear power reactor uses uranium rods as nuclear fuel to generate heat that will be used to generate electricity. Carbon dioxide and water is then used to take the heat away to produce steam and generate electricity. The steam then turn turbines which drive generators.

Most people don’t realize that over 20-percent of the US electricity is provided by nuclear power. There are just over 100 nuclear power plants in operation in the country. The earliest came on long before 1979. Despite their presence and contribution to the country’s support, no new plants have been built since the 1979 and the Three Mile Island incident.

While the process of getting all of the materials to build a nuclear plant created environmental pollution, and nuclear waste is an issue – the process of using nuclear energy and producing it has no significant environmental impact. Using fossil fuels contributes to pollution at every stage of production and use.