How is nuclear fission used in nuclear power plants?

It’s used with extreme caution and care.

But to your point. What we have is a chain of energy conversions, starting with nuclear energy and ending with electrical energy. Briefly the chain looks something like:

NE -> QE -> KE -> EE; where nuclear energy from fission is converted to heat energy, which is then converted into kinetic energy and finally electrical energy by generators.

Nuclear energy comes from the mass deficit e = (M – m)c^2 where M > m is the mass of the nuclear fuel before fission and m is the mass of the resulting particles after fission. There is always less mass after fission than before; that mass deficit is converted into heat.

The heat is captured by a liquid, typically water under great pressure, but sometimes other liquids, like liquid sodium (Na) will be used. The heat is carried through pipes to a vat of water under high pressure where the heat turns that water into superheated steam.

The steam is then funneled into steam driven electrical generators where the heat energy is converted into kinetic energy by turbines. The turbines rotate the generators, which produce the high voltage electricity.

The electricity is distributed by so-called high tension wire networks that distribute the energy to wholesale users. These users, like PG&E or NY Edison, in turn distribute the energy by lower tension wires to power your computer.

Browse “san onofre nuclear power plant” and you’ll get a long list of sites that explain how the San Onofre nuke plant works. There are also photos on some of the sites you can insert into your paper.

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oldprof says:

October 12, 2010 at 12:12 pm

It’s used with extreme caution and care.

But to your point. What we have is a chain of energy conversions, starting with nuclear energy and ending with electrical energy. Briefly the chain looks something like:

NE -> QE -> KE -> EE; where nuclear energy from fission is converted to heat energy, which is then converted into kinetic energy and finally electrical energy by generators.

Nuclear energy comes from the mass deficit e = (M – m)c^2 where M > m is the mass of the nuclear fuel before fission and m is the mass of the resulting particles after fission. There is always less mass after fission than before; that mass deficit is converted into heat.

The heat is captured by a liquid, typically water under great pressure, but sometimes other liquids, like liquid sodium (Na) will be used. The heat is carried through pipes to a vat of water under high pressure where the heat turns that water into superheated steam.

The steam is then funneled into steam driven electrical generators where the heat energy is converted into kinetic energy by turbines. The turbines rotate the generators, which produce the high voltage electricity.

The electricity is distributed by so-called high tension wire networks that distribute the energy to wholesale users. These users, like PG&E or NY Edison, in turn distribute the energy by lower tension wires to power your computer.

Browse “san onofre nuclear power plant” and you’ll get a long list of sites that explain how the San Onofre nuke plant works. There are also photos on some of the sites you can insert into your paper.

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How is nuclear fission used in nuclear power plants?