Nuclear Power and Fission

By Bethany Warden
 How do the reactors work?
Nuclear power plants use Uranium and a process called nuclear fission (explained here).
Uranium atoms are split to produce large amounts of energy which is, eventually,
converted into heat.
The splitting of the energy creates vast amounts of heat, and boils water to produce
steam, which is used to rotate turbines. These turbines turn the shaft of the generator
one after the other and as the generator starts to work, the coils of wire within the
generator are spun in a magnetic field to produce electricity. A nuclear reactor
maintains and controls the nuclear reaction within the plant to produce energy.

Steps 1-7 of a nuclear

 The parts of a nuclear reactor...
Control rods - Control rods absorb neutrons. Neutrons are absorbed to prevent the
reaction from going at an unsafe rate. (too fast or too slow)
Moderators - It is job the of the moderator to slow down neutrons. Moderators must slow
down neutrons without absorbing or reacting with them.
Coolant - The job of the coolant is to carry the heat from the reactor to a steam turbine
system where it is converted to electricity, as well as keeping the reactor cool enough
to prevent a meltdown
Fuel Rod - A long tube, made of a special metal alloy, that is used to hold uranium fuel
pellets
What is nuclear
fission?
Nuclear power reactors use nuclear fission.
Fission is another word for splitting. Nuclear
fission is the splitting of the nucleus of an atom into smaller atoms, and the most
common used atoms are uranium and plutonium. This is because the nuclei are
quite large and therefore easy to split, especially when hit by neutrons (tiny
particles). The splitting of the nuclei gives off a lot of energy, and that is why it is
used so much in nuclear power stations and nuclear weapons.

When the nucleus breaks apart it releases a lot of energy and it also causes some
more neutrons to be released. If those neutrons then hit other atoms, they will make
the other atoms split. This can repeat over and over again. This process is called a
nuclear chain-reaction, and it can release huge amounts of energy very quickly,
which is a good thing.

In a reactor, the heat created by the uranium or plutonium atoms when they fission (or
break apart) boils water into steam. This can be used to power the generator to
create electricity.
 Where are nuclear power stations
in the UK?

A total of 19 in the UK – there are a

total of around 250 in the world, mainly
because of Russia and the USA
needing so much energy.
 Advantages of nuclear power
• Nuclear power plants emit low amounts of
carbon dioxide
• The technology is available now, we don’t
have to wait for it to be developed
• One single nuclear power pant generates
a high amount of electrical energy
Disadvantages of nuclear power
• The problem of radioactive waste – it is extremely dangerous
• The energy source for nuclear energy is Uranium. Uranium is in
limited supply and is not a sustainable resource, its supply is
estimated to last for only the next 30-60 years
• There can be serious nuclear power incidents and a few have
occurred in history. The first occurred in 1952, when a reactor
suffered a violent power excursion that destroyed the core of the
reactor, causing some fuel melting. Over a thousand people were
told to “clean up” the mess it had made and “dispose of” the
contaminated water nearby

Uranium