Nuclear energy has been used to produce electricity for around 40 years. How?
Uranium, a mineral of which one of the isotopes, uranium 234 is unstable, is used. It is a fissile material, that is to say, the nucleus can be split in two by a neutron. That is what is called nuclear fission and the action liberates a
great deal
of energy.
The nucleus of an atom of uranium 235 (U 235) is exposed to bombardment by neutrons; the nucleus breaks down, giving off:
- Heat;
- Radiation;
- And one or more neutrons, which will bombard other atoms in their turn, again resulting in the emission of heat, radiation and neutrons …
That is what is called a chain reaction.
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| The emission of very intense heat is used to produce nuclear electricity in large quantities (several hundreds of thousands of kilowatts).
Reminder: the fission of radioactive atoms of uranium 235 gives off heat, but also
- Radiation against which we must protect ourselves;
- And radioactive waste, that is to say, unstable elements,
some of which remain unstable for very long periods (up to several thousand years).
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