How Does Nuclear Energy Work?

Nuclear energy is an incredibly effective way of generating electricity and providing power to tens of thousands of households in the region it powers. By creating a fission reaction and breaking apart an atom of uranium, the power plant is able to create incredible amounts of energy. While the explanation of nuclear energy is simple, the true might of nuclear energy requires such exact and detailed calculations. Otherwise, situations such as the Meltdown at Chernobyl can occur.

What is Fission?

Fission is a reaction that takes a compound such as Uranium and bombards it with neutrons so that it breaks apart. When this occurs, energy is created. The chemical equation for fission looks like this:

²³⁵U + n –> ²³⁶U(has a neutron now) –> ¹⁴⁰Xe + ⁹⁴Sr + 2n

In other words, you start off with Uranium 235, bombard it with a neutron which results in Uranium 236 which, instantaneously breaks apart into Xe 140 and Sr 94 plus another 2 neutrons. These two neutrons can then be taken and used to bombard another piece of Uranium. In other words, there is always more available neutrons that can be used to bombard the Uranium and break it apart.

The important thing to note is that when this reaction occurs and the Uranium 236 is created, it is an unstable isotope of Uranium. This means that when it breaks apart, it gives a ridiculous amount of energy. This energy can be used to create electricity.

How is Nuclear Energy Converted to Electricity

The nuclear power plants takes small pellets and packs them into a rod. This rod is then put into the nuclear reactor's core and it is bombarded with the neutrons on a consistent basis. When the energy is released, the energy is transferred into the turbines. This energy goes through the turbines and as it goes through the turbines, it is converted into electricity that can then be used to generate power for houses.

The reason nuclear energy is so advantageous is because it is very clean which means that there are no byproducts that are released into the environment. More importantly, so long as there is no meltdown, it is very clean. However, the frustration that appeared in the past was that there were dilapidated Uranium rods that had to be disposed of. In the past, there was very little that could be done with the waste. These days as the plants get more effective, more of the Uranium can be used and there is less waste that has to be dealt with.