Define the nuclear power, Physics

Assignment Help:

Define the Nuclear Power

As an energy source, nuclear power is an alternative to fossil fuels.  Controlled nuclear chain reactions are used to generate electricity in a safe manner in nuclear power plants. The fuel used in nuclear power plants consists of uranium: U-238 and U-235. U-235 undergoes fission and releases a tremendous amount of energy, triggering other atoms to split, if the uranium is concentrated in a tight ball.  Control rods are made of good neutron absorbers such as boron. The control rods are lowered into the fuel to slow down the fission reaction. They absorb some of the neutrons produced by the fission reactions so that there are fewer neutrons available to start othesr reactions. This keeps the overall reaction under control.

A gas or water is used as a coolant. The coolant carries heat from the reactor to a heat exchanger. The heat exchanger contains water which is heated to form steam. The steam moves a turbine which in turn drives a generator. The generator produces electricity.

One major downside to using nuclear fuel to power electric generating power plants is the spent fuel that must be dealt with, since the waste products of the fission reactions are still radioactive.  Much of the radioactive waste material has a half-life of thousands of years.  Safe storage of these materials is of major concern, because of the possibility of leaks, and they pose a long-term environmental pollution problem.

To calculate the energy produced during a nuclear fission or fusion reaction, we must first calculate the mass lost during the reaction. We then use Einstein’s famous equation of E = mc2 to calculate the energy produced during the reaction.


Related Discussions:- Define the nuclear power

#biot''s polariscope., Ask question #whether s component or p component pre...

Ask question #whether s component or p component present in the reflected light of Biot''s polariscope# Minimum 100 words accepted#

Nps, NPS, NEQ, and DQE of X- Ray Detector 1. An Example of a determini...

NPS, NEQ, and DQE of X- Ray Detector 1. An Example of a deterministic blurring. The digital flat panel detectors use discrete pixels to collect scintillation light from the ph

Final Problem, A 1.6 kg man swings from a 2 meter rope at an angle of 45 de...

A 1.6 kg man swings from a 2 meter rope at an angle of 45 degrees after swinging 20 degrees past the center point, the rope is cut by a razor. The man goes flying through the air

Define laplace correction, He customized Newton's formula suppose that prop...

He customized Newton's formula suppose that propagation of sound in gaseous medium is adiabatic process. For adiabatic method

Explain amplitude, Amplitude: The maximum displacement of a body on either...

Amplitude: The maximum displacement of a body on either side of the mean position during simple harmonic motion is known as amplitude and it is shown by x.

Do fibers have losses, Do fibers have losses? Everything in the univers...

Do fibers have losses? Everything in the universe is inefficient. It means that while a measured amount of something enters in a system, less comes out than initially went in.

Evaluate the velocity of electron, A radioactive atom is moving with respec...

A radioactive atom is moving with respect to the laboratory at a speed of 0.3 c in the x direction. If it emits an electron having a speed of 0.8 c in the rest frame of the atom, E

Homework help, Describe an actual situation that would give rise to the fre...

Describe an actual situation that would give rise to the free body diagram

Disadvantage of low power factor, Disadvantage of low Power Factor  We ...

Disadvantage of low Power Factor  We know that   P = V I cos φ,  for particular amount of power at constant voltage, Power (P) and voltage (V) in the above expression of

Write Your Message!

Captcha
Free Assignment Quote

Assured A++ Grade

Get guaranteed satisfaction & time on delivery in every assignment order you paid with us! We ensure premium quality solution document along with free turntin report!

All rights reserved! Copyrights ©2019-2020 ExpertsMind IT Educational Pvt Ltd