Lesson 63: How Nuclear Power Works
In this lesson, we will look at how nuclear energy is produced,
as well as talk about its advantages over coal.
Nuclear energy is unlike energy derived from
fossil fuels in that it involves changing materials at the atomic level.
There are 2 processes involved in the production of nuclear energy. They are:
- Nuclear fission (the splitting of a large atom of one element into smaller
atoms of different elements).
- Nuclear fusion (the uniting of two small atoms to
form a larger atom of a different element).
Nuclear fuel is created by the conversion of mass to energy.
Uranium is the primary mineral used in nuclear energy production.
There are 2 isotopes or forms commonly used:
- uranium-238
- uranium-235
These isotopes of uranium undergo nuclear fission, breaking into smaller atoms
while releasing energy. Nuclear fuel production involves constantly doing this
via a chain reaction. A chain reaction occurs when unstable isotopes collide
continuously, breaking down into smaller particles via nuclear fission.
Nuclear reactors are structures at nuclear power plants that
can withstand a continuous chain reaction.
Nuclear fuel production has some advantages over coal production.
If nuclear power replaced coal to provide electricity,
it would have some advantages such as:
- less fuel needed (1 pound of uranium releases the same amount of energy as 50
tons of coal)
- lower carbon dioxide emissions (coal plants release 7 million tons into the
air while nuclear has none directly, though some is produced during the mining
of uranium)
- no acid-forming pollutants like sulfur dioxide (coal plants emit more than 300,
000 tons of sulfur dioxide while nuclear plants do not emit any sulfur dioxides
at all)
- less radioactive waste gases (coal plants release 100 times more
radioactivity than nuclear power plants)
- less solid wastes (coal plants produce 600,
000 tons of ash that has to be disposed of compared to nuclear plants that
produce 250 tons)
- fewer accidents (coal plants have frequent accidents and
ongoing reports of healthcare concerns adding up to $1 billion in annual costs)