Nuclear energy is energy that is generated through the use of Uranium, a natural metal that is mined all over the world. Nuclear energy is created through complex processes in nuclear power stations, and the first nuclear power station was established in 1956 in Cumbria, England. Today, many military operations and vessels use nuclear power plants and nuclear energy for their energy source, and nuclear energy is used in many other capabilities such that it provides 16% of the Earth’s energy requirements.
Nuclear energy is created through chemical reactions that involve the splitting or merging of the atoms of nuclei together. The process of splitting an atom’s nucleus is termed fission, and the process of merging the nuclei if atoms is termed merging. Converting nuclear masses into energy forms is known through the popular chemical equation of E = mc2, where E is known as the amount of energy released, m is known as the mass of the nuclei, and c is the value of the speed of light. The power from nuclear energy was first discovered in 1896 by Henri Becquerel, a French physicist who saw that some photographic plates that had been stored near uranium turned dark, or black, like X-Ray plates did. Thus, Uranium was seen as a resource for nuclear energy.
Nuclear energy is created in nuclear power stations, where uranium rods are the fuel used to create the energy or heat. The process through fission, where neutrons in the Uranium smash into the nucleus of atoms of Uranium. The Uranium nuclei will then split in half and release an energy that comes in a form of heat. At this point, carbon dioxide in gas form will be pumped into the reactors with the Uranium, removing the heat from the system. The gas turns very hot, and this heat is used to heat water into steam. The steam created from this process will drive the turbines which in turn drive the generators that produce the nuclear energy.
The nuclear power reactor that is creating all of these reactions is controlled through rods of boron, known as control rods. These Boron rods absorb the neutrons. The rods will be lowered into the reactor to absorb neutrons and slow down the process of fission. In order to generate more power, the rods are raised again so that even more neutrons can crash into the atoms of Uranium.
Creating nuclear energy is a complex chemical process that can be very dangerous. It does however have many advantages. Nuclear energy is more affordable to create than coal energy, and does not use as much fuel in the process. It also produces less waste, and does not produce carbon dioxide or smoke. These benefits mean that nuclear energy is more advantageous than coal energy, as the production of nuclear energy does not contribute to environmental hazards or the greenhouse effect.
