Discover Nuclear Power
How does it work?
A nuclear reactor produces electricity in much the same way other power plants do. The chain reaction produces the energy, which turns water into steam. The pressure of the steam turns a generator, which produces electricity.
The difference is in how the heat is created. Power plants that run on fossil fuels burn coal, oil or natural gas to generate heat. In a nuclear energy plant, heat is produced from splitting atoms – a process called nuclear fission.
- Nuclear reactor creates heat that is used to make steam
- The steam turns a turbine connected to an electromagnet, called a generator
- The generator produces electricity
1
It is dangerous to live near a nuclear reactor
Nuclear reactors are designed and build with the highest safety standards, and their risk is concentrated on the radiation emitted from them during an accident in rare circumstances beyond the design basis and control since such accident is highly contained and confined within the reactor premises.
Therefore, it is not dangerous to live near nuclear reactors and there is no need to fear from the radiation emissions, as they do not exceed the limits of natural background radiation to which the human being is exposed in general.
2
Nuclear Reactors can explode like Nukes
It is impossible for a nuclear power plant from exploding like a Nuke, that is because of the low enrichment level of the fissile (U235 or Pu239) material in the Reactor Fuel (uranium or plutonium), which prevent of producing or generating very accelerated nuclear chain reaction.
Nuclear reactors are designed with a precise control capability of the chain reaction and with a high level of safety and reliability that limit and reduce the occurrence of nuclear accidents.
3
The declination of nuclear power growth globally
There are 451 nuclear reactors operating in 30 countries and about 58 reactors have been being built in 17 countries in China, USA, Russia, India, and Korea.
4
The nuclear power plant produces a huge amount of waste
The amount of waste produced by nuclear power plants is very low compared to other sources of energy (coal and natural gas) and the wastes are safely disposed of.
5
It is dangerous to transfer nuclear waste
Nuclear waste is safely shipped by land or air in specially designed and manufactured containers to reduce radiation and prevent any leakage in the most dangerous and extreme circumstances such as fire or container fall accidents. Private trucks are used for waste transport and the responsible staff are well trained and qualified under the supervision of independent regulatory and control bodies to transport such waste.
History of Nuclear Energy
1951: The first experimental reactor successfully produced electrical energy, lighting a string of four light bulbs in the United States.
1954: The first nuclear reactor to generate electricity for commercial purposes with a capacity of 5 megawatts was established in Obninsk, Russia.
The individuals who witnessed the first generation of electricity from nuclear energy celebrated the event by marking it with chalk on the concrete wall of the reactor.
It is noteworthy that the reactor was initially built to validate the concept of a breeder reactor.
The reactor operated for 15 years under Argonne National Laboratory, achieving several historical milestones.
On the day following its first operation, the reactor's output capacity was increased to 100 kilowatts, enough to power all its electrical equipment.
The first reactor for electricity production was established in 1951 in Idaho, USA, with an initial capacity of 100 watts, sufficient to light four light bulbs.