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The fuel in the core of a nuclear reactor goes into a chain reaction of nuclear fission. This happens because atoms of some isotopes in the fuel undergo spontaneous fission, producing neutrons, which cause other atoms to undergo fission, and so on.

The fission produces a lot of heat. The heat is typically used to boil water, which is used to turn a turbine. And finally, the turbine turns a generator to make electricity.

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What 2 effects did the Reformation have on Ireland?

Fissionable material, that is, material with the ability to fission, occurs in some isotopes of heavy elements. The most useful ones are uranium-235 (U-235) and plutonium-239 (Pu-239).In brief, when fission occurs, an atom of nuclear fuel (and we're talking about the fission of nuclear fuel here) splits. This splitting yields what are called fission fragments, and the atom splits approximately in two. Note that there are several options as regards what the atom splits into. It can split into "A" and "B" or it can split into "C" and "D" or a few other resultants. But regardless, the fission fragments recoil after fission occurs, and most of the energy of this recoil, which is kinetic energy on the atomic scale, is expressed as heat (thermal energy).The fuel in a reactor, whatever it is, is tightly sealed in a metal jacket ( How_is_energy_released_in_nuclear_fission). The atoms of the fuel are being held rigidly, and when fission occurs, the recoil of the fragments is "contained" in the fuel itself. This mechanical energy gives rise to the appearance of thermal (heat) energy. The lion's share of energy released by fission is carried off in the recoil of the fission fragments, which is kinetic (mechanical) energy. Said another way, the fission fragments can't "go anywhere" in the fuel matrix, and the kinetic energy they come away with after fission is captured in the fuel and appears as heat.There are also free neutrons released, and they carry off kinetic energy like the fission fragments. These neutrons are slowed down in the moderator to increase the chances that they will be captured by other fuel atoms and cause other fission reactions. They will continue the chain and cause more fissions following neutron capture events. Electromagnetic radiation in the form of gamma rays is also produced in nuclear fission. It must be shielded against. In review, most of the energy of fission appears in the kinetic energy of the fission fragments, and that kinetic energy is converted into heat within the fuel element.A nuclear reactor is a core made up of an assembly of fuel bundles, which are made of fuel elements, usually using enriched uranium as the nuclear fuel. In the pressurized water reactor, this assembly is inside a How_is_energy_released_in_nuclear_fission, as water is used as the primary coolant, and also the moderator. It can be ordinary water or heavy water. We also see some reactor designs that use graphite as a moderator. Also in the reactor are the control rods.The primary coolant is the heat transfer medium. It carries heat out of the core and into the steam generator and back to the core in a closed loop. The reactor is made to reach criticality on start up when control rods are pulled. The chain reaction within the fuel will produce a steady power output as a result of nuclear fission, and this will release heat. The heat is used to produce steam in a steam generator, and the steam is feed to a conventional steam turbine/generating unit to generate electric power.For those investigators attempting to trace the transformations of energy, nuclear energy (the binding energy that holds atomic nuclei together) is converted into electromagnetic and kinetic energy in fission. The electromagnetic energy, which appears as gamma rays, is largely lost as we cannot "capture" and "use" it. The kinetic energy (mechanical energy) of the fission fragments is converted into thermal energy (heat) because the fission products are "trapped" in the fuel matrix and cannot "fly free" as they would in air. The thermal energy created in the fuel bundles heats the fuel, and the primary coolant picks up that heat and transports it to a steam generator. The steam generator turns secondary water into steam, and the steam is piped to a turbine. The thermal energy of the steam is converted into mechanical energy in the turbine, and the mechanical energy is transferred into a generator. The generator converts the mechanical energy into electrical (electromagnetic) energy, and that is the useful product we derive from nuclear fission.Links are provided to other questions and to other web pages so you can check facts and learn more. You'll find the links below.


Was there ever a steam powered submarine?

The answer is yes, but it might not be what you think. The early application of steam power to do work saw its use in a wide variety of vehicles, both on land (cars, trains, etc.) and on water (steamships). Steam generation requires a heat source, and in all the early applications of steam, some form of combustion was employed to boil the water. We had to burn something. That meant using air, or at least the oxygen in it. The submarine, which had long been dreamed about, had crept along in its development. But it always used human power (or springs or something else quirky) to drive it under water. Some early attempts were made at employing electric motors with batteries, and later on that finally became the key to building a "real" u-boat. Designers added an internal combustion motor that drove a generator, and they also added a big bank of batteries. The "modern" submarine began service. These submarines had to surface to charge batteries, but could run quite a few hours submerged. They had limitations, but were an extraordinarily effective weapon in World War II. (There are a lot of articles about that.) World War 2 ended on a note that saw the entrance of applied atomic energy. The use of a nuclear reactor as a heat source for powering a submarine, which had already been envisioned, was realized by designers and engineers, and then built. The submarine was given a nuclear reactor, the primary useful product of which is heat, and the heat was used to generate steam. No air is required in that process. Almost all of the new military submarines have a nuclear reactor, and it is used as a heat source. But they have "conventional" steam plants with steam driven turbines that power up the propeller (called a screw) and steam turbine generators that make electricity.


What is a paved road?

It's a road that is not just rocks in a line it's a road made by many machines which makes it smooth and quite flat to drive on.


How did the energy revolution contribute to the Industrial Revolution?

It made production of goods faster and more effective.


What progress has been made in the fight for women's right to drive in America?

In recent years, progress has been made in the fight for women's right to drive in America. Several states have removed outdated laws that restricted women from driving, and there is a growing recognition of the importance of gender equality in transportation. However, challenges still remain, and advocacy efforts continue to push for further advancements in this area.

Related Questions

How is energy released in the reactor made to drive a turbine?

In a nuclear reactor, energy is released through a process of nuclear fission. This produces heat that is used to boil water and produce steam, which then drives a turbine connected to a generator. As the turbine spins, it generates electricity.


What kind of energy is made when steam comes out of the earth and spins a turbine?

Geothermal energy is produced when steam from beneath the Earth's surface is used to spin a turbine. This steam is generated by heat from the Earth's core, which is harnessed to produce electricity in geothermal power plants.


How can heat energy be converted to mechanical energy?

Heat can be used to generate steam. Steam, under pressure, can be made to push against pistons or to drive a turbine. The first generates linear motion and the second rotational motion.


What is in the core of a nuclear reactor?

The core of the nuclear reactor includes:nuclear fuel elements (composed of the fuel meat covered with cladding)reactor coolantreactor moderator (for thermal reactors)control elementsmeasuring instrumentsstructural and support structures


What energy conversions take place in a nuclear power station?

Not sure what you mean with "transfer into energy". No new energy is created, and no energy is destroyed. Nuclear fission converts nuclear energy (a type of potential energy) available in the atoms, into other types of energy, like heat.


What is the process of manufacture of nuclear energy?

Nuclear energy to produce electricity is obtained from nuclear reactors, which are assemblies of uranium rods surrounded by a moderator and which can be made to produce a chain reaction of fissioning of the active part of the uranium (U235), which produces heat. The heat output raises steam either in separate boiler units (PWR) or within the reactor pressure vessel (BWR), which is then used to drive a steam turbine/generator which operates similarly to one in a coal or gas fired plant.


Why was gas made?

It was made for energy, now people use that energy to drive cars.


What is a reactor?

A nuclear reactor is an assembly of fuel elements (uranium usually), a moderator which can be ordinary water, heavy water, or graphite, and control rods. The reactor is made to reach criticality when uranium fuel will produce a steady power output as a result of nuclear fissions which release heat. The heat is used to produce steam which feeds a conventional steam turbine/generating unit.


Can you make a real ark reactor?

An Ark reactor as currently describe in comic is very much like a Nuclear Fuel Cell. Possibly convert energy from Nuclear reaction to power. Possibly a plasma nuclear fusion reactor. I believe in the future it could be made. See the link and compare the similarity of fusion reactor and Ark reactor.


The kind of power produced when the energy of flowing water turns a generator turbine?

Hydroelectric power is made when this happens


What are the parts of steam turbine?

Steam turbine is a machine that extracts thermal energy from pressurized steam. It is made up of casing essential to which the blades are attached onto it and a rotor that carries the moving blades.


What is Control Rods and Drive Mechanisms in a PWR in nuclear reactor?

Control rods are a key component in a Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR) that help regulate the nuclear reaction by absorbing neutrons and controlling the rate of fission. They are made of neutron-absorbing materials such as boron or cadmium. Drive mechanisms are used to move the control rods in and out of the reactor core to adjust the reactivity levels of the reactor.