Introduction

Today nuclear power is universally controversial. Many would say that it is also universally needed.as an alternative or supplement to power generated by fossil fuels. The combustion of fossil fuels produces carbon dioxide, now notorious for the threat of global warming. Nuclear power plants produce neither carbon dioxide nor oxides of sulfur and nitrogen, as does the burning of fossil fuels. Thus nuclear power reduces the global production of carbon dioxide and other pollutants, and helps to alleviate many of the pervasive problems of fossil fuel supply. Petroleum is least available in regions of widest use; natural gas is, for the time being, plentiful and sought after by all; and widely abundant coal has come to be regarded as the great Satan of air pollution. Water power is important, but it offers limited possibility for growth. Solar energy, while promising, is far from being a mainstay of the worlds energy supply. Thus sources other than fossil fuels and nuclear power offer little hope to become major suppliers during our lifetimes. y y y y
y

Worldwide Nuclear Power Reactors There are 440 nuclear power reactors in 31 countries. 30 more are under construction. They account for 16% of the worlds electricity. They produce a total of 351 gig watts (billion watts) of electricity.

Review of Atomic Structure Atoms are made up of 3 types of particles electrons , protons and neutrons. These particles have different properties. Electrons are tiny, very light particles that have a negative electrical charge (-). Protons are much larger and heavier than electrons and have the opposite charge, protons have a positive charge. Neutrons are large and heavy like protons, however neutrons have no electrical charge. Each atom is made up of a combination of these particles. Molecule is an electrically neutral group of at least two atoms held together by covalent chemical bonds. Molecules are distinguished from ions by their electrical charge. The nucleus is the very dense region consisting of protons and neutrons at the center of an atom.

Nuclear Fuel y Nuclear fuel is any material that can be consumed to derive nuclear energy. The most common type of nuclear fuel is fissile elements that can be made to undergo nuclear fission chain reactions in a nuclear reactor y The most common nuclear fuels are 235U and 239Pu. Not all nuclear fuels are used in fission chain reactions Nuclear Fission y When a neutron strikes an atom of uranium, the uranium splits ingto two lighter atoms and releases heat simultaneously. y Fission of heavy elements is an exothermic reaction which can release large amounts of energy both as electromagnetic radiation and as kinetic energy of the fragments

U235 + n

fission + 2 or 3 n + 200 MeV

If each neutron releases two more neutrons, then the number of fissions doubles each generation. In that case, in 10 generations there are 1,024 fissions and in 80 generations about 6 x 10 23 (a mole) fissions.

ADVANTAGES Nuclear power generation does emit relatively low amounts of carbon dioxide (CO2). The emissions of greenhouse gases and therefore the contribution of nuclear power plants to global warming is therefore relatively little. This technology is readily available, it does not have to be developed first. It is possible to generate a high amount of electrical energy in one single plant

DISADVANTAGES The problem of radioactive waste is still an unsolved one. High risks: It is technically impossible to build a plant with 100% security. The energy source for nuclear energy is Uranium. Uranium is a scarce resource, its supply is estimated to last only for the next 30 to 60 years depending on the actual demand.

Fusion and Fission of Nuclear

Nuclear Fusion

 Another form of nuclear energy is called fusion. Fusion means joining smaller nuclei (the plural of nucleus) to make a larger nucleus. The sun uses nuclear fusion of hydrogen atoms into helium atoms. This gives off heat and light and other radiation.  In the picture to the right, two types of hydrogen atoms, deuterium and tritium, combine to make a helium atom and an extra particle called a neutron.  Scientists have been working on controlling nuclear fusion for a long time, trying to make a fusion reactor to produce electricity. But they have been having trouble learning how to control the reaction in a contained space.  What's better about nuclear fusion is that it creates less radioactive material than fission, and its supply of fuel can last longer than the sun.

Nuclear Fission An atom's nucleus can be split apart. When this is done, a tremendous amount of energy is released. The energy is both heat and light energy. Einstein said that a very small amount of matter contains a very LARGE amount of energy. This energy, when let out slowly, can be harnessed to generate electricity. When it is let out all at once, it can make a tremendous explosion in an atomic bomb.

A nuclear power plant (like Diablo Canyon Nuclear Plant shown below) uses uranium as a "fuel." Uranium is an element that is dug out of the ground many places around the world. It is processed into tiny pellets that are loaded into very long rods that are put into the power plant's reactor. The word fission means to split apart. Inside the reactor of an atomic power plant, uranium atoms are split apart in a controlled chain reaction. In a chain reaction, particles released by the splitting of the atom go off and strike other uranium atoms splitting those. Those particles given off split still other atoms in a chain reaction. In nuclear power plants, control rods are used to keep the splitting regulated so it doesn't go too fast.

Figure: Diablo Canyon Nuclear Plant If the reaction is not controlled, you could have an atomic bomb. But in atomic bombs, almost pure pieces of the element Uranium-235 or Plutonium, of a precise mass and shape, must be brought together and held together, with great force. These conditions are not present in a nuclear reactor. The reaction also creates radioactive material. This material could hurt people if released, so it is kept in a solid form. The very strong concrete dome in the picture is designed to keep this material inside if an accident happens. This chain reaction gives off heat energy. This heat energy is used to boil water in the core of the reactor. So, instead of burning a fuel, nuclear power plants use the chain reaction of atoms splitting to change the energy of atoms into heat energy.

This water from around the nuclear core is sent to another section of the power plant. Here, in the heat exchanger, it heats another set of pipes filled with water to make steam. The steam in this second set of pipes turns a turbine to generate electricity. Below is a cross section of the inside of a typical nuclear power plant.

Types of nuclear reactors

Pressurized Water Reactor

Figure 1: Schematic: Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR)

The most common type of reactor -- the PWR uses regular old water as a coolant. The primary cooling water is kept at very high pressure so it does not boil. It goes through a heat exchanger, transferring heat to a secondary coolant loop, which then spins the turbine. These use oxide fuel pellets stacked in zirconium tubes. They could possibly burn thorium or plutonium fuel as well. Pros:
y y y

Strong negative void coefficient -- reactor cools down if water starts bubbling Secondary loop keeps radioactive stuff away from turbines, making maintenance easy. Very much operating experience has been accumulated and the designs and procedures have been largely optimized. Cons:

Pressurized coolant escapes rapidly if a pipe breaks, necessitating lots of back-up cooling systems. Cant breed new fuel -- susceptible to "uranium shortage"

Boiling Water Reactor

Figure 2 Schematic: Boiling Water Reactor (BWR) Second most common, the BWR is similar to the PWR in many ways. However, they only have one coolant loop. The hot nuclear fuel boils water as it goes out the top of the reactor, where the steam heads over to the turbine to spin it. Pros:
y y

Simpler plumbing reduces costs Power levels can be increased simply by speeding up the jet pumps, giving less boiled water and more moderation. Thus, load-following is simple and easy. Very much operating experience has been accumulated and the designs and procedures have been largely optimized. Cons:

With liquid and gaseous water in the system, many weird transients are possible, making safety analysis difficult Cant breed new fuel -- susceptible to "uranium shortage" Does not typically perform well in station blackout events, as in Fukushima.

y y

10

Sodium Cooled Fast Reactor

Figure 3: Sodium-Cooled Fast Reactor The first electricity-producing nuclear reactor in the world was SFR (the EBR-1 in Arco, Idaho). As the name implies, these reactors are cooled by liquid sodium metal. Sodium is heavier than hydrogen, a fact that leads to the neutrons moving around at higher speeds (hence fast). These can use metal or oxide fuel, and burn anything you throw at them (thorium, uranium, plutonium, higher actinides). Pros:
y y y

Can breed its own fuel, effectively eliminating any concerns about uranium shortages Can burn its own waste Metallic fuel and excellent thermal properties of sodium allow for passively safe operation

Cons:
y

To fully burn waste, these require reprocessing facilities which can also be used for nuclear proliferation.

y y

Positive void coefficients are inherent to all fast reactors. This is a safety concern. Not as much operating experience has been accumulated

11

Canada Deuterium-Uranium Reactors (CANDU)

Figure 1.2 Schematic: Pressurized Heavy Water Reactor (CANDU) CANDUs are a Canadian design found in Canada and around the world. They contain heavy water, where the Hydrogen in H2O has an extra neutron (making it Deuterium instead of Hydrogen). Deuterium absorbs many fewer neutrons than Hydrogen, and CANDUs can operate using only natural uranium instead of enriched. Pros:
y y y

Require very little uranium enrichment. Can be refueled while operating, keeping capacity factors. Are very flexible, and can use any type of fuel.

Cons:
y y

Some variants have positive coolant temperature coefficients, leading to safety concerns. Neutron absorption in deuterium leads to tritium production, which is radioactive and often leaks in small quantities.

Are particularly good at producing weapons-grade plutonium.

12

Liquid Fluoride Thorium Reactor

LFTRs have gotten a lot of attention lately in the media. They are unique so far in that they use molten fuel. So there's no worry of meltdown because theyre already melted. The folks over at Energy from thorium are totally stoked about this technology. Pros:
y y

Can constantly breed new fuel, eliminating concerns over energy resources Can be maintained online with chemical fission product removal, eliminating the need to shut down during refueling.

Liquid fuel also means that structural dose does not limit the life of the fuel, allowing the reactor to extract very much energy out of the loaded fuel. Cons:

Radioactive gaseous fission products are not contained in small pins, as they are in typical reactors. So if there is a containment breach, all the fission gases can release instead of just the gases from one tiny pin. This necessitates things like triple-redundant containments, etc. and can be handled, but is certainly a challenge and disadvantage. All liquid fuel reactors have this problem.

Very little operating experience.

13

High Temperature Gas Cooled Reactor

HTGRs use little pellets of fuel backed into either hexagonal compacts or into larger pebbles (in the prismatic and pebble-bed designs). Gas such as helium or carbon dioxide is passed through the reactor rapidly to cool it. Due to their low power density, these reactors are seen as promising for using nuclear energy outside of electricity: in transportation, in industry, and in residential regimes. They are not particularly good at just producing electricity.

14

Pros:
y

Can operate at very high temperatures, leading to great thermal efficiency (near 50%!) and the ability to create process heat for things like oil refineries, water desalination plants, hydrogen fuel cell production, and much more.

Each little pebble of fuel has its own containment structure, adding yet another barrier between radioactive material and the environment. Cons:

High temperature has a bad side too. Materials that can stay structurally sound in high temperatures and with many neutrons flying through them are hard to come by.

If the gas stops flowing, the reactor heats up very quickly. Backup cooling systems are necessary.

Gas is a poor coolant, necessitating large amounts of coolant for relatively small amounts of power. Therefore, these reactors must be very large to produce power at the rate of other reactors.

Not as much operating experience

15

Albert Einstein Formula

Another major form of energy is nuclear energy, the energy that is trapped inside each atom. One of the laws of the universe is that matter and energy can't be created nor destroyed. But they can be changed in form.

Matter can be changed into energy. The world's most famous scientist, Albert Einstein, created the mathematical formula that explains this. It is:

This equation says:

 E [energy] equals m [mass] times

[c stands for the velocity or the speed of light.

means c times c, or the speed of light raised to the second power or c-squared.]  Proposition. (Mass-energy equivalence) If a body at rest emits a total energy of E

while remaining at rest, then the mass of that body decreases by

16