![]() ![]() As we phase out the fossil fuels driving climate change, nuclear power would be most effective as part of a low-carbon energy mix. On the other hand, nuclear plants are more expensive to build than solar or wind farms, especially at a small scale. These factors mean that nuclear energy is a much more direct substitute for fossil fuels than other low-carbon energy sources. In the future, this heat could be used for industrial processes like making concrete and steel, which we cannot accomplish with the electricity from solar, wind or hydropower. Nuclear energy is also a good carbon-free source of heat. Some newer designs are instead meant to turn on and off quickly, providing the “dispatchable” power we need when demand for energy is highest. Most nuclear plants are built to make huge amounts of energy day in and day out, providing the “baseload” power we need at all times. Unlike wind or solar power, nuclear power does not depend on the weather, so it can make electricity exactly when we need it. Nuclear energy meets important needs that other carbon-free energy sources cannot yet match. Nuclear Energy in a Carbon-Free Energy System To be effective, these solutions must be backed by policy choices and popular approval. Practical solutions for disposal, recycling and reuse of spent nuclear fuel already exist, and others are being studied. The uranium fuel is formed into ceramic pellets. ![]() At the center of the reactor is the core, which contains uranium fuel. Fission takes place inside the reactor of a nuclear power plant. In nuclear fission, atoms are split apart to form smaller atoms, releasing energy. Nuclear fission is a special form of nuclear transformation. Nuclear power plants use heat produced during nuclear fission to heat water. In this process, neutrons are released and energy is given off which is known as nuclear energy. This spent fuel will be radioactive for thousands of years, and can be harmful to people or the environment, so managing it is one of the biggest challenges of nuclear power, just as the air pollution from fossil fuels and the electronic waste from solar panels are serious challenges for other forms of energy. Nuclear fission is the splitting of a heavy atomic nucleus into two medium-heavy atomic nuclei by bombardment with neutrons. Because nuclear fuel is not burned like coal or gas, the same amount of fuel that goes into a reactor comes out after the fuel is used. A uranium fuel pellet the size of your finger can produce as much energy as one ton of coal or 17,000 cubic feet of natural gas. ![]() Usually, this heat is used to boil water and turn a turbine, making electricity. The massive energy released by this nuclear fission makes the reactor incredibly hot. When the atoms split, they release more neutrons, so more and more atoms split in a chain reaction. Here, free neutrons circulate until the fuel absorbs them, which triggers the atoms to split. In a nuclear power plant, a fuel with high concentrations of these atoms is placed in a secure device called a nuclear reactor. Some atoms, like uranium-235 and plutonium-239, are prone to breaking apart when collided with particles called neutrons. In fact, nuclear power could meet the average American’s lifetime energy needs with an amount of fuel that would fit in a soda can. In the U.S., nuclear power provides more than half of our carbon-free electricity.īecause the nuclear bonds inside atoms hold so much energy, nuclear power plants can make more energy with less fuel than any other technology today. For example, the fission of 1 pound (0.5 kilogram) of uranium produces as much energy as burning 3,000 tons of coal.Nuclear energy is energy made by breaking the bonds that hold particles together inside an atom, a process called “nuclear fission.” This energy is “carbon-free,” meaning that like wind and solar, it does not directly produce carbon dioxide (CO 2) or other greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change. Nuclear fission releases a lot of energy. They split the nucleus of a uranium atom in two by bombarding it with particles called neutrons. They made their discovery while working with atoms of the substance called uranium. In the 1930s scientists discovered that they could make nuclear fission happen in certain kinds of atoms. That energy is the source of the heat and light that Earth gets from the Sun. nuclear fission ( usually uncountable, plural nuclear fissions ) ( physics) A nuclear reaction in which a large nucleus splits into smaller ones, sometimes accompanied by the simultaneous release of energy. There atoms are constantly combining and creating nuclear energy. Nuclear fusion happens naturally in stars such as the Sun. The nuclei of certain kinds of atoms can give off nuclear energy without fission or fusion taking place. Nuclear fusion happens when two nuclei join to form a single nucleus. Nuclear fission happens when the nucleus of an atom splits into two or more parts. Nuclear energy can be released through processes called nuclear fusion and nuclear fission. ![]()
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