Homework for Chapter 20 Essay

Reactor operators control the chain reaction created by nuclear fission to regulate the amount of heat generated and energy produced.

These alternatives can be helpful in reducing carbon emissions while ensuring the energy independence . These sources are wind ,solar ,geothermal, hydro, nuclear and renewable bio fuels. Some of these sources are renewable , meaning they can be replenished, while others like nuclear, are non-renewable, yet are clean sources of energy. For better sustainability , society continues to explore the challenges of these energy options to help implement the necessary changes for an environmentally friendly and energy independent future.

c. Write 3 – 4 sentences evaluating the use of nuclear fission to generate electric energy. Provide at least one point in favor of and two points against using fission. (3 points)

Albert Einstein developed an equation for this process, E=mc^2. To summarize this equation, energy is lost or produced when a change in mass occurs. So the process of nuclear fission begins with a neutron. The neutron then strikes the Uranium nucleus, causing the Uranium nucleus to split into two Uranium nuclei. By splitting the nucleus, it also produces more neutrons, and with those neutron, it continues to split the Uranium nucleus. From this uncontrolled process of fission, nuclear weapons can be made. This process is known as a nuclear chain reaction. The energy released (exothermic reaction) from this chain reaction is what powered the atomic bombs.

Energy, the whole world revolves around it and almost all people use energy daily and many do not know or care to think where it comes from. Appliance stores also have large signs pointing to the energy efficient washing machines and refrigerators. People also use more incandescent light-bulbs rather than LED and Fluorescent. Incandescent waste a great deal of energy. On the thought of energy,most of the world’s energy comes from the combustion (burning) of fossil fuels. Fossil fuels may be cost effective and cheap to use, however, they pollute the air by releasing harmful greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere. While nuclear and biomass are both reliable alternative fuels, nuclear is a better option for New Jersey because it produces a great deal of energy with a small amount of fuel ,does not release any greenhouse gases and is also reliable to use. unlike biomass, which produce a great deal of greenhouse gases.

Most power plants burn coal, oil, or natural gas to turn water into steam. This steam make a turbine rotate which produces electricity. In a nuclear power plant, atoms are split creating heat to turn the turbine. Other power plants create many greenhouse gases, while nuclear power plants only release carbon dioxide. There are 100 commercial nuclear reactors in the U.S., these reactors account for about 20% of the nation's total electricity. There are 7,577 other power plants ( thermal, hydro-electric, geothermal, and wind power plants) not including nuclear power plants in the U.S. alone. These power plants - talk about pollution -emit carbon dioxide, ammonia, methane gas, boron, decrease oxygen supply, displace animals, and many other things.

Nuclear fission starts off with an atom, the building blocks of matter. When an atom has an unstable nuclei, it is classified as a radioactive isotope. To further explain, a radioactive isotope are several atoms of the same element with different masses whose unstable nuclei splits and spontaneously releases radiation. In the process of

* First, the power of the reactor could be increased to re-stabilize the nuclear reaction

Unlike fossil fuels, nuclear energy has the lowest impact on the environment since it does not release any gases like carbon dioxide, methane which are largely responsible for

What is nuclear fission? How does it work? What does it have to do with

Pollution is another topic with both pros and cons. Fossil fuels release harmful pollutants into the air such as carbon dioxide and sulfur dioxide. Nuclear power does not release any of those toxins into the atmosphere. However, a pollution problem with nuclear energy is thermal pollution, where a plant’s “hot effluents” are put into a nearby body of water, and raise the temperature by a small amount but enough to cause a disturbance in the ecosystem of the lake or reservoir. Nevertheless, this could easily be solved by cooling the effluents before releasing them into the water. The other problem facing nuclear energy is waste disposal. Nuclear waste is radioactive and very dangerous. Therefore, it must be kept buried and sealed up for a long period of time until the radioactivity dies [Plasma-Material]. One positive fact about nuclear energy that is not disputed is its abundance.

Fission is another way for saying splitting. Splitting a nucleus is called nuclear fission. Uranium or plutonium isotopes are commonly used in nuclear reactors, because their atoms have relatively large nuclei that are fairly easier to slip, especially when collided with neutrons. When a uranium-235 or plutonium-239 nucleus is hit by a neutron, the following happens:

Nuclear Fission is the main process by which humans are able to generate energy from the nucleus of atoms. In order to discuss the nuclear fission process the role of the neutron must be examined. The collision of a neutron in motion with a fissionable nucleus an essential pre condition that creates the nuclear fission process. In order for fission to occur a neutron of the requisite energy must collide into, and merge with a fissionable nucleus to create a new compound nucleus. The formation of the new compound nucleus, in the case of Uranium-238, can be described by the following nuclear reaction: U-238 + n -> U-239. In situations where nuclear fission successfully occurs new nuclei are created from the remnants of the old nuclei. The velocity or energy of the colliding neutron is a significant factor in the fission process. Nuclear fission can occur after a heavy nuclei captures a neutron. The low energy neutrons which are slow or thermal can result in the fission of isotopes of Plutonium and Uranium whose nuclei have an odd number of

Hydroelectric power tends to upset the ecosystems in rivers and lakes. It affects the fish and wild life population. Nuclear energy is a very controversial subject. Although it produces high quantities of power with relative efficiency, it is very hard to dispose of the waste. While wind and solar power have no waste products, they require enormous amounts of land

As a whole, reliance on fossil fuels contributes to climate change, which will lead to disastrous consequences in the future. One of the many changes that can be made is to use cleaner sources of energy, of which nuclear is one of them.