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NUCLEAR FISSION
The first large scale use of nuclear fission occurred on July 16, 1945, in New Mexico, with the test of the worlds first atomic bomb. ... In the following years, nuclear reactors were envisioned as a clean and cheap source of electricity, capable of meeting vastly increased demand in the future. ...
At the present time, about 430 nuclear reactors are connected to the worlds electricity grids, supplying 16% of the worlds electricity demand. ... This amount of electricity generation is far less than that which had been predicted back in the 1960s when nuclear power was in its infancy. The increasing cost of nuclear power plant construction is one reason why nuclear energy has not lived up to its potential; but the main reason is safety concerns. Nuclear power plant accidents such as those at Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania and Chernobyl in the former U. ... have drastically increased public opposition to nuclear power. ...
FIGURE 1: Three nuclear reactions: one using naturally fissile U235 and two which breed fissile materials from U238 and Th232 (53K). ... interest in nuclear fission, as it produces no greenhouse or acid gas emissions.
The Nuclear Fission Reaction
Nuclear fission is the splitting of an atom into two or more parts. ...
Starting a fission reaction is accomplished by bombarding fissionable nuclei with neutrons. This causes the nuclei to fly apart, splitting into two fission products and emitting two or three neutrons of their own (Figure 1). ... These fission products include such isotopes as iodine-131, caesium-137 and strontium 90.
The breakup of large nuclei into two nearly equal fragments is called nuclear fission. ... This is important in nuclear reactor and bombs, where neutrons emitted from one fission event cause other nuclei to fission, releasing more neutrons and so causing chain reaction.
Approximate Word count = 1434
Approximate Pages = 5.7
(250 words per page double spaced)
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