U-235 is better than U-238. U-235 is fissile, while U-238 is only fertile. Fertile means that splitting the atom with a neutron can release binding energy. Fissile means that and also that the event can release enough stray neutrons to continue the reaction, i.e. to cause a chain reaction.
The question is not specific. Is this question about the amount of energy released or how the energy released? I'll answer for both of them, the amount of energy to be released depends on the fuel like U235 and Pu239 etc, and mass of them. The energy is released by the conversion of mass into energy. when the U235 breaks into two other nuclei, there will be the mass defect. this will be converted into energy. i hope your problem is solved. other wise, please specify your question.
The most common substances used as nuclear fuel are Uranium 235 and Plutonium 239. These isotopes are fissile, which means that they will fission (split) in a controlled manner when bombarded with high energy neutrons, and release energy in the form of heat. This heat is used to boil water in huge boilers. The resulting steam is used to drive steam turbines which generate electrical energy.
U-235 18.4Kg (a sphere 12.6cm diameter) will do, probably less.P-239 6.4Kg (a sphere 9.2cm diameter) will do, probably less.Nucleonics Fundamentals, McGraw Hill 1959, page 313
The references I have state Oralloy is 93.5% U235. Oralloy (Oak Ridge Alloy) was used in US Uranium atomic bombs as the fissile material. However they also say that any enrichment 20% U235 or higher is fissile and could be used to make a bomb, it would require a higher critical mass to work though. One source I have states that early Soviet Uranium atomic bombs used ~97% U235, but the US felt this level of enrichment to be unnecessary and excessively expensive.
I have a figure but this is for 1 kg of Uranium 235, normally reactor fuel is about 4 percent of this isotope, so the amount of coal would be divided by 25 if we are talking about uranium as used in PWR or BWR reactors. Also this figure is for complete use of the U235, whereas for practical reasons of maintaining reactor performance, fuel is unloaded and replaced before it is all used up. So bearing in mind the above, 1 kg of U235 will produce as much energy as 1500 tons of coal. Let's try: 1kg of U235 (3,75%) has 83,14 TJ/kg. 1J=1Ws (3600Ws=1Wh). 1TJ=1000GJ=1 mio MJ 1kg of coal has 6000Wh/kg. I get 3850tons.
In current nuclear power plants, nuclear energy is released when U235 undergoes fission. This energy is not stored, it is used as soon as it is released, to produce electricity.
in order,- Fission, (u235) Fusion, (d-t) Fusion (sun) Antimatter, Zero point energy.
Yes, U233, U235, and U238 are all used as nuclear fuels.
You can't reassemble the U235 nucleus after it has fissioned, so you can't put nuclear power into reverse.
Nuclear energy is simply electricity produced by a nuclear reactor, which is just a different way to heat steam to turn a turbine. It is the same as normal electricity, actually it IS normal electricity.
-- A ball on a shelf has gravitational potential energy with respect to the floor. -- A ball in motion has kinetic energy. -- A ball of fire has heat energy. -- A ball of trinitrotoluene has chemical energy. -- A ball of charged pith has static electric energy. -- A ball of U235 has nuclear energy.
It comes from the fission of certain nuclei, mostly U235 and Pu239. Every fission of a nucleus of an atom of these materials releases a certain amount of energy as heat.
Nuclear energy is released from the nucleus when U235 fissions, it appears initially as kinetic energy of the fission fragments, these are then stopped in the fuel material and turned to thermal energy. We can't use the nuclear energy directly.
which process & which isotope u mention 1. nuclear reaction U235 & Pu239
Nuclear fusion produces energy because the binding energy of the nucleons in the resulting nucleus is greater than in the starting nuclei. The same happens when a heavy nucleus, U235 or Pu239 for example, splits up. These are both examples of nuclear energy, but as we have not yet learned how to use fusion for power production, useful nuclear energy on earth is only available from fission.
Enough of either U235 or PU239 to form a critical mass and hence a large explosion
Uranium is used as the feed fuel in nuclear power plants. Natural uranium contains 0.7 percent U235 but this is increased to about 4 percent for light water moderated reactors. The bulk of uranium is U238 and this is not productive, though some of it turns to plutonium during operation and this gives further energy output. The reaction with U235 and Pu239 is called fission, whereby the nucleus splits into two parts and releases energy