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Q: What is the element used to generate electricity in nuclear power plants?
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What are the uses of atomic energy?

In civil nuclear plants, the heat produced by fission in U-235 is used to generate electricity.


What element is uesd in nuclear power plants?

Uranium


What is a metallic element used in nuclear power plants?

UraniumIronLeadCadmiumetc.


What are the uses of the nuclear reaction?

Nuclear fission is generally used to liberate energy that can be harnessed for commercial and military purposes. They are also used to generate specific isotopes of elements..A commercial nuclear fission reactor is used to generate electricity in a controlled fission reaction that heats water into steam, and uses the steam to drive turbines, which in turn drive generators, and creates electricity. France is the largest producer of nuclear power (proportionately), with over 75% of its electricity nuclear generated..The same power generation principle is used on board some military vessels that use nuclear power plants to generate the energy needed to drive the ships' propulsion systems. Nuclear powered ships can travel over very long distances and for great durations without requiring refueling..Some nuclear reactors' principle purpose is to generate specific isotopes of material. The Chalk River fission reactor in Ontario, Canada, for example, generates over 80% of the world's supply of Technetium 99m, which is used worldwide as a radioactive dye in medical imaging..Nuclear fission reactions can also be used as thermonuclear bombs, such as the two that the USA detonated in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, in 1945. Such fission reactions are deliberately uncontrolled, hence they release all their energy in a fraction of a second, thereby creating an explosion of cataclysmic proportions.Power source for generating electricity .Fission is the act of an atom decaying into smaller, more stable atoms. The decay process results in two or more new atoms. When the masses of the new atoms are added up, they do not equal the mass of the original atom. This is because the decay process releases radiation in the form of gamma rays, beta particles, and light. This energy release can be used in a productive manner. For example, in nuclear power reactors, the fissile material's rate of decay can be controlled. This can create a regulated amount of heat. This heat can be used to warm water. The warmed water can be used to turn a steam turbine, which will generate electricity.


Do nuclear power plants pollute more than coal power plants?

No. Nuclear power is more efficient because nuclear power is used as splitting atoms, making big bursts of energy, whereas coal power is simply burning coal. So nuclear power uses uranium fission to create energy (electricity), whereas coal power burns coal, emitting carbon. (Mind you, nuclear energy leaves behind radioactive waste - that is arguably easier to deal with for the time being. Not to mention that accidents at nuclear plants can have devastating environmental effects.

Related questions

Why were nuclear electricity generating plants set up?

To generate electricity.


Why was nuclear power plants invented in the first place?

to generate electricity.


Nuclear power plants generate electricity from what?

From the thermal energy released by fission of uranium


What are thermonuclear plants?

Thermonuclear plants are power stations. They use nuclear fission reactions to generate heat. This boils water to generate steam, which turns the turbines to generate electricity.


Nuclear power plants generate electricity from?

Radioactivity more precisely fission chain reaction


Nuclear reactors should not be used to generate electricity?

False. Nuclear power is used to generate about 25% of the electricity in the United States, and about 75% of the electricity in France. Nuclear power is far safer than coal-fired power plants, and produces no harmful emissions, if you care about such things.


Could the U.S. use more nuclear power to generate electricity?

Yes, if more plants are built.


Why are large amounts if water used in nuclear power plants?

to cool the heating rods and generate electricity


What can Nuclear Power be used as?

Nuclear power is used to generate electricity.


To generate electricity nuclear power plants produce?

Heat by fission in a nuclear reactor, that is used to generate steam which drives a steam turbine connected to a generator which produces electricity. There are 435 nuclear power reactors in operation operating in 31 countries as of April, 2014.


What are the uses of atomic energy?

In civil nuclear plants, the heat produced by fission in U-235 is used to generate electricity.


Do nuclear power plants make electricity from fossil fuel?

No. Nuclear power plants use a uranium to provide the heat to generate electricity from. By splitting the nuclei of uranium atoms (called nuclear fission), energy is released, which will be used for electricity generation. Uranium is a radioactive metal, not a fossil fuel.