What is nuclear power

Nuclear Matters. American Nuclear Society. World Nuclear Association. North American Young Generation in Nuclear. Women in Nuclear.

Nuclear power is a clean and efficient way of boiling water to make steam, which turns turbines to produce electricity. The heat created by nuclear fission warms the reactor's cooling agent. A cooling agent is usually water, but some nuclear reactors use liquid metal or molten salt.

The cooling agent, heated by nuclear fission, produces steam. The steam turns turbine s, or wheels turned by a flowing current. The turbines drive generator s, or engines that create electricity. Rods of material called nuclear poison can adjust how much electricity is produced. Nuclear poisons are materials, such as a type of the element xenon , that absorb some of the fission products created by nuclear fission.

The more rods of nuclear poison that are present during the chain reaction, the slower and more controlled the reaction will be. Removing the rods will allow a stronger chain reaction and create more electricity. As of , about 15 percent of the world's electricity is generated by nuclear power plants. The United States has more than reactors, although it creates most of its electricity from fossil fuel s and hydroelectric energy. Nations such as Lithuania, France, and Slovakia create almost all of their electricity from nuclear power plants.

Nuclear Food: Uranium Uranium is the fuel most widely used to produce nuclear energy. That's because uranium atoms split apart relatively easily. Uranium is also a very common element, found in rocks all over the world. However, the specific type of uranium used to produce nuclear energy, called U , is rare. U makes up less than one percent of the uranium in the world.

Although some of the uranium the United States uses is mined in this country, most is import ed. The U. Once uranium is mined, it must be extract ed from other mineral s. It must also be processed before it can be used. Because nuclear fuel can be used to create nuclear weapon s as well as nuclear reactors, only nations that are part of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty NPT are allowed to import uranium or plutonium , another nuclear fuel.

The treaty promotes the peaceful use of nuclear fuel, as well as limiting the spread of nuclear weapons. A typical nuclear reactor uses about tons of uranium every year. Complex processes allow some uranium and plutonium to be re-enriched or recycled. This reduces the amount of mining , extracting, and processing that needs to be done. Nuclear Energy and People Nuclear energy produces electricity that can be used to power homes, schools, businesses, and hospitals.

The first nuclear reactor to produce electricity was located near Arco, Idaho. The Experimental Breeder Reactor began powering itself in The first nuclear power plant designed to provide energy to a community was established in Obninsk, Russia, in Building nuclear reactors requires a high level of technology , and only the countries that have signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty can get the uranium or plutonium that is required.

For these reasons, most nuclear power plants are located in the developed world. Nuclear power plants produce renewable, clean energy. They do not pollute the air or release greenhouse gas es.

They can be built in urban or rural area s, and do not radically alter the environment around them. The steam powering the turbines and generators is ultimately recycle d. It is cooled down in a separate structure called a cooling tower.

The steam turns back into water and can be used again to produce more electricity. Excess steam is simply recycled into the atmosphere , where it does little harm as clean water vapor.

However, the byproduct of nuclear energy is radioactive material. Radioactive material is a collection of unstable atomic nuclei. These nuclei lose their energy and can affect many materials around them, including organisms and the environment. Radioactive material can be extremely toxic , causing burn s and increasing the risk for cancer s, blood diseases, and bone decay. Radioactive waste is what is left over from the operation of a nuclear reactor.

Radioactive waste is mostly protective clothing worn by workers, tools, and any other material that have been in contact with radioactive dust. Radioactive waste is long-lasting. Materials like clothes and tools can stay radioactive for thousands of years. The government regulates how these materials are disposed of so they don't contaminate anything else. Used fuel and rods of nuclear poison are extremely radioactive. The used uranium pellets must be stored in special containers that look like large swimming pools.

Water cools the fuel and insulate s the outside from contact with the radioactivity. Some nuclear plants store their used fuel in dry storage tanks above ground. Similar refurbishment work enabled Ontario to phase out coal in , achieving one of the cleanest electricity mixes in the world. Mexico has two operable nuclear reactors, with a combined net capacity of 1. In , nuclear generated 4. The USA has 93 operable nuclear reactors, with a combined net capacity of There had been four AP reactors under construction, but two of these have been cancelled.

One of the reasons for the hiatus in new build in the USA to date has been the extremely successful evolution in maintenance strategies. Over the last 15 years, improved operational performance has increased utilisation of US nuclear power plants, with the increased output equivalent to 19 new MWe plants being built. Despite this, the number of operable reactors has reduced in recent years, from a peak of in Early closures have been brought on by a combination of factors including cheap natural gas, market liberalization, over-subsidy of renewable sources, and political campaigning.

Argentina has three reactors, with a combined net capacity of 1. In , the country generated 7. Brazil has two reactors, with a combined net capacity of 1. In , nuclear generated 2. Belgium has seven operable nuclear reactors, with a combined net capacity of 5. Finland has four operable nuclear reactors, with a combined net capacity of 2. France has 56 operable nuclear reactors, with a combined net capacity of This target has now been postoponed to The country's energy minister said that the target was not realistic, and that it would increase the country's carbon dioxide emissions, endanger security of supply and put jobs at risk.

In Germany , six nuclear power reactors continue to operate, with a combined net capacity of 8. Germany is phasing out nuclear generation by about as part of its Energiewende policy.

Energiewende , widely identified as the most ambitious national climate change mitigation policy, has yet to deliver a meaningful reduction in carbon dioxide CO 2 emissions. In , the year after the policy was introduced, Germany emitted Mt CO 2 from fuel combustion; in , the country emitted Mt CO 2 , and was the world's seventh-biggest emitter of CO 2.

The Netherlands has a single operable nuclear reactor, with a net capacity of 0. In , nuclear generated 3. Spain has seven operable nuclear reactors, with a combined net capacity of 7. Sweden has six operable nuclear reactors, with a combined net capacity of 6.

The country is closing down some older reactors, but has invested heavily in operating lifetime extensions and uprates. Switzerland has four operable nuclear reactors, with a combined net capacity of 3. The United Kingdom has 13 operable nuclear reactors, with a combined net capacity of 7. Construction has commenced on the first of a new-generation of plants. Armenia has a single nuclear power reactor with a net capacity of 0.

Belarus has one operable nuclear power reactor, connected to the grid in November , and a second reactor under construction. Almost all the rest of the country's electricity is produced from natural gas. Bulgaria has two operable nuclear reactors, with a combined net capacity of 2. The Czech Republic has six operable nuclear reactors, with a combined net capacity of 3. Hungary has four operable nuclear reactors, with a combined net capacity of 1.

Romania has two operable nuclear reactors, with a combined net capacity of 1. Russia has 38 operable nuclear reactors, with a combined net capacity of A government decree in specified construction of 11 nuclear power reactors by , in addition to those already under construction. At the start of , Russia had four reactors under construction, with a combined capacity of 4.

The strength of Russia's nuclear industry is reflected in its dominance of export markets for new reactors. The country's national nuclear industry is currently involved in new reactor projects in Belarus, China, Hungary, India, Iran and Turkey, and to varying degrees as an investor in Algeria, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Indonesia, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Nigeria, South Africa, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan among others.

Slovakia has four operable nuclear reactors, with a combined net capacity of 1.