How do nuclear reactors and nuclear power plants generate electrical power?

What will be an ideal response?


A nuclear power plant boils water to make steam to turn a turbogenerator. The technology differs from other (non-hydro) electrical generating plants in the source of the energy used to boil water.
Fission is used to produce the energy in a nuclear power plant. "In fission, a large atom of one element is split to produce two smaller atoms of different elements." Uranium-235 is the heavy atom used in the fission process. A neutron hits the nucleus of uranium-235, causing the release of neutrons and creating new daughter elements. In a nuclear power plant, the quantity and speed of neutrons is controlled so the reaction rate is controlled. Control rods, inserted into the reactor core, absorb neutrons, thereby controlling the rate of the fission chain reaction. The moderator slows the speed of neutrons. The heat generated from fission is absorbed by water, usually in a double-loop system, and steam is generated.

Environmental & Atmospheric Sciences

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Of the ions Cl-, Na+, NH4+ and NO3-, which will move towards the anode?

A) only chloride ions B) only sodium ions C) both chloride ions and nitrate ions D) both the sodium ion and ammonium ions

Environmental & Atmospheric Sciences

Environmental good and environmental bad are:

a) on the whole, evenly distributed among the peoples of the earth. b) disproportionately distributed so that the middle-class must foot the bill. c) unevenly distributed so that those with the least power get the most pollution. d) distributed in a way that those who gain the most benefit also experience the most cost.

Environmental & Atmospheric Sciences

One of the most prominent surface features of Europe is an undulating or rolling plain that extends without a break from near the French-Spanish border, across western and northern France, central and northern Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, northern Germany, Poland, and far into Russia, known as ________ __________ ________

Fill in the blank(s) with correct word

Environmental & Atmospheric Sciences

With the end of the Cold War,

A) Russia has become a nation-state. B) military alliances have become more important in Europe. C) nationalities have been discouraged from expressing their cultural identities. D) the European Union has become the world's leading economic superpower. E) the Organization of American States has disbanded.

Environmental & Atmospheric Sciences