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Essay Archive - Nuclear Power
Nuclear Power
Producing energy from a nuclear power plant is very complicated. The process of
nuclear energy involves the fission of atoms, the release of energy from fission
as heat, and the transfer of heat to electricity in power plants.
The process of splitting the atom is called nuclear fission. Fission can take
place in many different kinds of atoms. This explanation uses Uranium - 235,
the atom most commonly used in nuclear reactors. The Uranium atom has many
protons, thus making it unstable. Since the nucleus of the atom is so unstable
it wants to split itself apart, causing a spontaneous fission. When the nuclei
of a Uranium atom splits....
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