NUCLEAR

POWER
What is nuclear
power?

• the use of controlled

nuclear reactions to obtain
energy
• includes:

 nuclear fission,

 nuclear decay

 n u c l e a r fu s i o n .
What is a Nuclear Plant?

• a t h er ma l p o wer s t a t io n .

• h e a t s o u r ce i s a n u cl e a r r e a ct o r
 heat is used to generate steam to drives a steam turbine

• 4 3 9 n u cl e a r p o we r re a c t o rs

• 3 2 co u n t r ie s a ro un d t he wo rl d 。

Source : the International Atomic Energy Agency

How do the powered by atomic splitting(fission)

neutron is fired at an atom

nuclear plant
splits into two smaller atoms and some extra neutrons.
work?
Some of them released neutrons to hit other atoms

causing them to fission and release more neutrons

large amount of heat energy

 1. cooling water takes the heat energy out

How do the
2. generates steam in steam generator

nuclear plant
3. high temperature and pressure steam drives steam
turbine
work?
4. drives the generator to rotate

5. steam will be collected

Benefit of Nuclear Power

Reliable: Clean air: Efficient:

• Nuclear reactors usually produce • No greenhouse emissions in • Powerful energy production
power 24/7 of using oil. operation

Reduce costs: Less:

• The costs of operation are very • The electricity generated by one
low. kilogram of uranium is about
2,700,000 kilograms of coal
 1 It generates toxic nuclear
Disadvantage waste
of using Uranium is highly radioactive.
turned into nuclear waste
Nuclear Power highly radioactive for hundreds or
thousands of years
cannot be discarded or disposed of
easily.
Disadvantage 2. It raises the chances
of nuclear proliferation.
of using
Nuclear Power • Nuclear proliferation
• development of nuclear weapons
• accumulation of nuclear material
threaten to the peace
 3. nuclear fiction
Disadvantage
• a bad way to make power big as
of using the particles keep dividing
• atomic bomb killed up to
Nuclear Power 226,000 people
• it need a lot of water to cool
down