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“ Nuclear power is one hell of a way to boil water ”
ALBERT EINSTEIN THEORETICAL PHYSICIST olar , wind and hydroelectric power , all beautiful shades on the renewable energy spectrum , provide humans with the ability to live comfortably , without polluting the planet with fossil fuels .
Nuclear energy , however , is not pretty . It ’ s hot , steamy and in the wrong circumstances , deadly . Unlike its renewable energy peers – which are often photographed alongside a meadow backdrop – nuclear energy conjures up far darker images .
For those who grew up with The Simpsons , nuclear energy is simple enough for the donut-craving patriarch Homer to handle . But for those who lived through the Cold War , nuclear energy is tied up with the iconic grainy images of liquidators scrambling on rooftops and the Soviet Union flag waving above an abandoned city .
But in the right conditions , nuclear energy can supply humanity with enough energy to sustain it . Many hope this will carry the world away from fossil fuels and into clean energy , but what is nuclear energy and how does it work ?
How nuclear energy works In the last issue of Sustainability magazine , we explored biomass energy , which uses hot water to make steam , spin a turbine and power a generator to create electricity . Nuclear energy works in a similar capacity , using uranium as fuel .
Inside of a nuclear power station , a controlled chain reaction takes place :
In a process known as nuclear fission , uranium atoms are forced to collide with neutrons , which split the atom . This releases an intense level of radiation and thermal energy . This heat is used to turn water into steam inside a boiler . This causes the steam to drive a turbine which drives a generator and produces electricity .
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