Definition of Key Terms Nuclear Power The use of nuclear processes (decay, fusion and fission) to generate energy in the form of useful heat and electricity. Fission reactions are currently further developed than other methods of producing nuclear energy; however it is believed that once nuclear fusion reactors are successfully developed to the extent to which they can function and produce substantial energy, they can be the leading form of energy production as they are substantially safer, more convenient and more efficient. Nuclear Fusion Reaction A nuclear reaction in which multiple nuclei of atoms collide at high speed, under high pressure and at a high temperature to form a new nucleus, releasing photons (light and energy) as this happens. Nuclear Fission Reaction A nuclear reaction in which the nucleus of an atom splits into smaller, or lighter, nuclei, producing free neutrons and photons, in the form of gamma rays. They release a large amount of energy. Radioactive Decay Radioactive decay is a process through which a nuclear of an unstable atom loses energy, by emitting radiation. A material that radioactively decays is considered to be a radioactive material. ITER ITER, Latin for ‘The Way’ and an acronym of International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor, is a research and engineering project that is internationally run, and involves building the world’s largest nuclear fusion reactor. The seven member parties involved in the ITER project are the European Union (EU), India, Japan, China, Russia, South Korea and the United States, with the EU contributing 45% of the funds and the other nations contributing 9% each. While still currently under construction, ITER holds the potential to provide immense amounts of energy and... ... middle of paper ... ...e, as it was a bigger, more powerful machine than any of those that the US had developed. Thermonuclear (“hydrogen”) bombs A thermonuclear bomb is one type of nuclear bomb that releases atomic energy by a combination of nuclear fission – when the nucleus of an atom splits into smaller parts – and nuclear fusion – the collision and fusion of hydrogen nuclei at high temperatures and under high pressure to produce helium atoms. These primarily use the heat from nuclear fission to fuel nuclear fusion. Plasma Plasma is one of the four fundamental states of matter, along with solid, liquid and gas. Heating gas to very high temperatures under high pressure results in it turning into plasma. A great amount of understanding when it comes to plasma is a result of nuclear fission and fusion technology, as the isolation of plasma is a part of the process of nuclear fusion.
Nuclear power has grown to be a big percentage of the world’s energy. As of January 18, 2013 in 31 countries 437 nuclear power plant units with an installed electric net capacity of about 372 GW are in operation and 68 plants with an installed capacity of 65 GW are in 15 countries under construction. As of end 2011 the total electricity production since 1951 amounts to 69,760 billion kWh. The cumulative operating experience amounted to 15, 15,080 years by end of 2012. (European Nuclear Society) The change that nuclear power has brought to the world has led to benefits in today’s energy’s usage.
The development of atomic bomb boosted the level of understanding in terms of physics and chemistry of that particular time period. Physicists started to realize that stable nuclei can be converted to unstable nuclei. Through such process, they discovered that heavy nuclei can undergo nuclear fission. While testing, they added a neutron to an isotope of Uranium 235. This resulted Uranium 235 to become unstable and break down into Barium and Krypton, releasing two to three more neutrons. The breakdown of Uranium 235 is called “fission”. When the released neutrons attach to other isotopes of Uranium 235, this can result in a chain reaction of fission. For every generation of fission, the amount of fission is doubled, and this resulted in an extreme outburst of energy. The amount of energy released by this process is related to Einstein’s famous equation “E=mc^2” (Wolf).
Plasma can be defined as a substance similar to a gas with almost zero electric charge.
All these effects were the cause of the discovery of nuclear fission and its properties. Nuclear Fusion Nuclear fusion is the process used by the sun and the stars in our solar system to produce their energy. Fusion involves smashing hydrogen atoms together at high velocities to form helium, and the matter is made into energy.
A. Attention Material: Have you ever thought about energy? Where it comes from and how it powers things? Nuclear energy is one of the many types of energy sources in the world today. It is a non-renewable resource such as coal and natural gas. The first nuclear reactor ever created by man was built in December of 1942. The discovery of building a nuclear power plant was discovered over 150 years ago (Nuclear Power: Villain or Victim?, p. 15).
Nuclear energy must be a consideration for the future with the rapidly depleting supply of fossil fuels. This type of energy can be created through nuclear fission and nuclear fusion. Nuclear fission is the splitting of a heavy atom into two or more parts, releasing huge amounts of energy. The release of energy can be controlled and captured for generating electricity. Nuclear fusion involves bombarding hydrogen atoms together to form helium. In the long run, nuclear fusion has greater potential than fission.
According to Merriam-Webster, nuclear fission is defined as “the splitting of an atomic nucleus resulting in the release of large amounts of energy” (Nuclear Fission). In the book Remembering the Manhattan Project: Perspectives on the Making of the Atomic Bomb and Its Legacy, Richard Rhodes, an American journalist and historian, states that fission was essentially discovered by accident. On December 21, 1938, German physicists, Otto Hahn and Fritz Strassman, were performing an experiment in which they bombarded uranium atoms with neutrons (Rhodes 17). They saw that this procedure created mutated atoms that had strange characteristics. Hahn and Strassman found that the neutrons split the nuclei of the uranium in half producing radioactive barium and krypton (Rhodes 18). Rhodes explains that the physicists observed that the reaction was extremely exothermic, producing about ten times the energy needed for the fission to occur. After publishing their findings, physicists all over the world recreated the experiment. After conducting his own fission experiment, Enrico Fermi, an Italian physicist at Colombia University, said, “A little bomb like that and it would all disappear” (qtd. Rhodes 19). Many of the world’s physicists came to the same conclusion; this reaction could be used to develop an atomic weapon. According to Rhodes, this discovery made the development of atomic weaponry seem essential to many countries because the only way to defend themselves against atomic weapons was to have similar weapons of their own.
Nuclear energy is produced during the process named nuclear fission or nuclear fusion. The development of nuclear energy started in the 20th century and there is now worldwide recognition for using nuclear energy. Popular countries that operates nuclear power are United States, France, Japan, and Russia, the nuclear energy generates up to 6% of the world’s electricity supplies. Even though the energy is mostly used by many countries, but it may causes side effect to the living things in the environment. (WNA, 2012)
The atomic bomb is a powerful, explosive nuclear weapon. It is fueled by the fission of the nuclei of specific amounts of plutonium or uranium, in a chain reaction. The strength of the explosion created by one of these bombs is equal to the strength of an explosion created by thousands of tons of TNT.
What is Radiation? Radiation is a A form of energy carried by waves or a stream of particles. Radiation is a fragment that is capable of ionizing atoms or molecules isolating electrons from them due to its sufficiently possessed energy when it is passed through them. Radiations include alpha, beta and gamma rays. They can cause severe damage when absorbed by living tissue, and are therefore a health hazard they can effect the repairing ability of living cells. Ionizing radiation consists of subatomic particles or electromagnetic waves that are energetic enough to detach
Beta radiation/emission – Beta particles are electrons (0-1e) that have been released from the nucleus of a radioactive atom when a neutron decays into a proton and electron. Beta decay/emission happens when the neutron to proton ratio is too high due to excess neutrons. 10n 11p + 0-1e (mass is still conserved as well as number of protons.)
To begin, nuclear power is produced by nuclear fission, which is the splitting of an atom to start a chain reaction (“11 Facts”). This chain reaction produces massive amounts of heat. Nuclear reactors take advantage of this heat by pumping water into the reactor, which in turn produces steam. The steam then becomes pressurized through a pipeline and exits into a turbine (“How do Nuclear”). The pressurized steam causes the turbine blades to spin, producing power which is linked to a generator for use in the main power lines. When the steam passes the turbine blades, it goes past cooled pipes and condensates (“How do Nuclear”). After the condensation process is finished and the steam reverts back to water, it is pumped into the reactor again, thus completing the process of producing nuclear-based power.
Power from nuclear fusion reactors would be a welcome achievement for the 21st century, and at the current rate of progress it seems likely that before the end of the new century energy will be available from nuclear fusion. It is estimated that it will take over a decade from the time a sustainable fusion reaction is achieved before fusion power will be available for use. But the attention being devoted to research is strong, the experiments are coming closer to fruition, and we are coming closer to having an almost limitless supply of energy.
What is radioactivity? Radioactive isotopes are heavy nuclei of certain elements having extra neutrons. The extra neutrons in their nuclei cause them to be unstable so the nuclei break up spontaneously, emitting alpha, beta and gamma radiations. For example,
Nuclear energy is generated by a process called fission. Fission occurs within the reactor of a nuclear power plant when a neutron is fired at an atom of uranium causing it to split and release subsequent neutrons.1 These are able to crash into other uranium atoms causing a chain reaction and releasing a great deal of heat energy.