Chapter #17 Guided Reading
- Nuclear Energy is energy contained in the atom's nucleus
- Two processes can be used to release the energy: Fission and Fusion
- Fission=splitting of atomic nuclei
- Fusion=fusing or combining of atomic nuclei
- Nuclear fission produced much more energy than fossil fuels
- Three types of uranium occur in nature:
- Uranium-238
- Uranium-235
- Uranium-234
- The main components of a reactor are the core, control rods, reactor and the coolant
- Core: fuel and moderator
- Control rods: control the rate of reaction or stop it
- Coolant: remove heat
- Problems with nuclear power are:
-Nuclear power plants have a limited lifetime
-Terrorists could collect plutonium for dirty bomb
- Radioisotope: an isotope of a chemical element that spontaneously undergoes radioactive decay
- Explosion of nuclear atomic weapons does two types of damage:
- Directly from blast
- Dispersal of radioactive isotopes
- Most scientist agree that radiation can cause cancer
- Low-Level radioactive waste, low enough concentrations that it does not present a significant environmental hazard
- Transuranic waste is composed of human-made radioactive elements heavier than uranium
- High-level radioactive waster consists of commercial and military spent nuclear fuel
- Advocated argue that nuclear power is good for the environment
- Pebble-Bed reactors, a gas cooled reactor
- Fusion reactors involved combining the nuclei of light elements to form heavier ones