NUCLEAR ENERGY (URANIUM) ENERGY FROM ATOMS

Nuclear Energy is Energy from Atoms

Nuclear Fuel- Uranium
Nuclear Power Plants Generate Electricity
Types of Reactors
Nuclear Power and the Environment

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NUCLEAR ENERGY IS ENERGY FROM ATOMS

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.
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. 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.

NUCLEAR FUEL - URANIUM

The fuel most widely used by nuclear plants for nuclear fission is uranium.
Uranium is nonrenewable, though it is a common metal found in rocks all over
the world. Nuclear plants use a certain kind of uranium, U-235, as
fuel because its atoms are easily split apart. Though uranium is
quite common, about 100 times more common than silver, U-235 is
relatively rare. Most U.S. uranium is mined, in the Western United
States. Once uranium is mined the U-235 must be extracted and
processed before it can be used as a fuel.

During nuclear fission, a small particle called a neutron hits the

uranium atom and it splits, releasing a great amount of energy as
heat and radiation. More neutrons are also released. These
neutrons go on to bombard other uranium atoms, and the process repeats itself
over and over again. This is called a chain reaction.

NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS GENERATE ELECTRICITY

Nuclear power accounts for about 19 percent of the total net electricity generated
in the United States, about as much as the electricity used in California,Texas and
New York, the three states with the most people. In 2005, there were 66 nuclear
power plants(composed of 104 licensed nuclear reactors) throughout the United
States.

Most power plants burn fuel to produce electricity, but not nuclear power plants.
Instead, nuclear plants use the heat given off during fission as fuel. Fission takes
place inside the reactor of a nuclear power plant. At the center of the reactor is
the core, which contains the uranium fuel.

The uranium fuel is formed into ceramic pellets. The pellets are about the size of
your fingertip, but each one produces the same amount of energy as 150 gallons
of oil. These energy-rich pellets are stacked end-to-end in 12-foot metal fuel rods.
A bundle of fuel rods is called a fuel assembly.

Fission generates heat in a reactor just as coal generates heat in a boiler. The heat
is used to boil water into steam. The steam turns huge turbine blades. As they
turn, they drive generators that make electricity. Afterward, the steam is changed
back into water and cooled in a separate structure at the power plant called a
cooling tower. The water can be used again and again.

TYPES OF REACTORS

Just as there are different approaches to designing and building airplanes and
automobiles, engineers have developed different types of nuclear power plants.
Two types are used in the United States: boiling-water reactors (BWRs), and
pressurized-water reactors (PWRs).

In the BWR, the water heated by the reactor core turns directly into steam in the
reactor vessel and is then used to power the turbine-generator. In a PWR, the
water passing through the reactor core is kept under pressure so that it does not
turn to steam at all -- it remains liquid. Steam to drive the turbine is generated
in a separate piece of equipment called a steam generator. A steam generator is a
giant cylinder with thousands of tubes in it through which the hot radioactive
water can flow. Outside the tubes in the steam generator, nonradioactive water
(or clean water) boils and eventually turns to steam. The clean water may come
from one of several sources: oceans, lakes or rivers. The radioactive water flows
back to the reactor core, where it is reheated, only to flow back to the steam
generator. Roughly seventy percent of the reactors operating in the U.S. are
PWR.

Nuclear reactors are basically machines that contain and control chain reactions,
while releasing heat at a controlled rate. In electric power plants, the reactors
supply the heat to turn water into steam, which drives the turbine-generators.
The electricity travels through high voltage transmission lines and low voltage
distribution lines to homes, schools, hospitals, factories, office buildings, rail
systems and other users.

NUCLEAR POWER AND THE ENVIRONMENT

Like all industrial processes, nuclear power generation has by-product wastes:
spent (used) fuels, other radioactive waste, and heat. Because nuclear generated
electricity does not emit carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, nuclear power
plants in the U.S. prevent emissions of about 700 million metric tons of carbon
dioxide. This is nearly as much carbon dioxide as is released from all U.S.
passenger cars combined.

Spent fuels and other radioactive wastes are the principal environmental concern
for nuclear power. Most nuclear waste is low-level radioactive waste. It consists
of ordinary tools, protective clothing, wiping cloths and disposable items that
have been contaminated with small amounts of radioactive dust or particles.
These materials are subject to special regulation that govern their disposal so
they will not come in contact with the outside environment.

On the other hand, the spent fuel assemblies are highly radioactive and must
initially be stored in specially designed pools resembling large swimming pools
(water cools the fuel and acts as a radiation shield) or in specially designed dry
storage containers. An increasing number of reactor operators now store their
older and less spent fuel in dry storage facilities using special outdoor concrete or
steel containers with air cooling. The United States Department of Energy's long
range plan is for this spent fuel to be stored deep in the earth in a geologic
repository, at Yucca Mountain, Nevada.

Last Revised: November 2006

Sources: Energy Information Administration, Annual Energy Review 2005, July 2006,
Energy Information Administration, Office of Coal, Nuclear, Electric, and Alternative Fuels, October 2005.

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Nuclear Fission:

Nuclear fission is when an atomic nucleus splits into two or more pieces creating the
energy for nuclear power plants or weaponry. This splitting is often triggered by the
absorption of a neutron travelling at high speed. Uranium-235 and Plutonium-239 are
readily fissile and can release lots of energy. When they split they will release more
neutrons, a property that allows for neutron chain reactions. Since Plutonium-239 tends to
occur artificially from Uranium-235 it is less common.

Neutron Chain Reactions:

Neutron chain reactions are required to produce sufficient energy for nuclear weaponry
and power. When a readily fissile material (e.g. Uranium-235, Plutonium-239) undergoes
fission it produces more neutrons. The neutrons produced are supposed to cause more
atoms to undergo fission. With enough of these atoms present enough energy can be
produced to power nuclear reactors and even weapons.
 Nuclear Energy
The sun and stars are seemingly inexhaustible sources of energy.
That energy is the result of nuclear reactions, in which matter is
converted to energy. We have been able to harness that
mechanism and regularly use it to generate power. Presently,
nuclear energy provides for approximately 16% of the world's
electricity. Unlike the stars, the nuclear reactors that we have
today work on the principle of nuclear fission. Scientists are
working like madmen to make fusion reactors which have the
potential of providing more energy with fewer disadvantages
than fission reactors.

Production

Changes can occur in the structure of the nuclei of atoms.

These changes are called nuclear reactions. Energy
created in a nuclear reaction is called nuclear energy, or
atomic energy.

Nuclear energy is produced naturally and in man-made

operations under human control.

 Naturally: Some nuclear energy is produced naturally. For

example, the Sun and other stars make heat and light by
nuclear reactions.
 Man-Made: Nuclear energy can be man-made too.
Machines called nuclear reactors, parts of nuclear power
plants, provide electricity for many cities. Man-made
nuclear reactions also occur in the explosion of atomic and
hydrogen bombs.

Nuclear energy is produced in two different ways, in one,

large nuclei are split to release energy. In the other method,
small nuclei are combined to release energy.

For a more detailed look at nuclear fission and nuclear

fusion, consult the nuclear physics page.
  Nuclear Fission: In nuclear fission, the nuclei of atoms are
split, causing energy to be released. The atomic bomb and
nuclear reactors work by fission. The element uranium is
the main fuel used to undergo nuclear fission to produce
energy since it has many favorable properties. Uranium
nuclei can be easily split by shooting neutrons at them.
Also, once a uranium nucleus is split, multiple neutrons are
released which are used to split other uranium nuclei. This
phenomenon is known as a chain reaction.

Fission of uranium 235 nucleus. Adapted from Nuclear Energy.

Nuclear Waste*.

 Nuclear Fusion: In nuclear fusion, the nuclei of atoms are

joined together, or fused. This happens only under very hot
conditions. The Sun, like all other stars, creates heat and
light through nuclear fusion. In the Sun, hydrogen nuclei
fuse to make helium. The hydrogen bomb, humanity's most
powerful and destructive weapon, also works by fusion.
The heat required to start the fusion reaction is so great that
an atomic bomb is used to provide it. Hydrogen nuclei fuse
to form helium and in the process release huge amounts of
energy thus producing a huge explosion.

Milestones in the History of Nuclear Energy

Amore in depth and detailed history of nuclear energy is on

the nuclear past page.

 December 2, 1942: The Nuclear Age began at the

University of Chicago when Enrico Fermi made a chain
reaction in a pile of uranium.
 August 6, 1945: The United States dropped an atomic
bomb on Hiroshima, Japan, killing over 100,000.
  August 9, 1945: The United States dropped an atomic
bomb on Nagasaki, Japan, killing over 40,000.
 November 1, 1952: The first large version of the hydrogen
bomb (thousands of times more powerful than the atomic
bomb) was exploded by the United States for testing
purposes.
 February 21, 1956: The first major nuclear power plant
opened in England.

Advantages of Nuclear Energy

 The Earth has limited supplies of coal and oil. Nuclear

power plants could still produce electricity after coal and
oil become scarce.
 Nuclear power plants need less fuel than ones which burn
fossil fuels. One ton of uranium produces more energy than
is produced by several million tons of coal or several
million barrels of oil.
 Coal and oil burning plants pollute the air. Well-operated
nuclear power plants do not release contaminants into the
environment.

Disadvantages of Nuclear Energy

The nations of the world now have more than enough

nuclear bombs to kill every person on Earth. The two most
powerful nations -- Russia and the United States -- have
about 50,000 nuclear weapons between them. What if there
were to be a nuclear war? What if terrorists got their hands
on nuclear weapons? Or what if nuclear weapons were
launched by accident?

 Nuclear explosions produce radiation. The nuclear

radiation harms the cells of the body which can make
people sick or even kill them. Illness can strike people
years after their exposure to nuclear radiation.
 One possible type of reactor disaster is known as a
meltdown. In such an accident, the fission reaction goes
out of control, leading to a nuclear explosion and the
emission of great amounts of radiation.
 In 1979, the cooling system failed at the Three Mile
Island nuclear reactor near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
 Radiation leaked, forcing tens of thousands of people
to flee. The problem was solved minutes before a
total meltdown would have occurred. Fortunately,
there were no deaths.
 In 1986, a much worse disaster struck Russia's
Chernobyl nuclear power plant. In this incident, a
large amount of radiation escaped from the reactor.
Hundreds of thousands of people were exposed to
the radiation. Several dozen died within a few days.
In the years to come, thousands more may die of
cancers induced by the radiation.
 Nuclear reactors also have waste disposal problems.
Reactors produce nuclear waste products which emit
dangerous radiation. Because they could kill people who
touch them, they cannot be thrown away like ordinary
garbage. Currently, many nuclear wastes are stored in
special cooling pools at the nuclear reactors.
 The United States plans to move its nuclear waste to
a remote underground dump by the year 2010.
 In 1957, at a dump site in Russia's Ural Mountains,
several hundred miles from Moscow, buried nuclear
wastes mysteriously exploded, killing dozens of
people.
 Nuclear reactors only last for about forty to fifty years.

The Future of Nuclear Energy

Some people think that nuclear energy is here to stay and

we must learn to live with it. Others say that we should get
rid of all nuclear weapons and power plants. Both sides have
their cases as there are advantages and disadvantages to
nuclear energy. Still others have opinions that fall
somewhere in between.

What do you think we should do? After reviewing the pros

and cons, it is up to you to formulate your own opinion.
Read more about the politics of the issues or go to the forum
to share your own opinions and see what others think.
 tq-nuke@tjhsst.edu

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