Everything about Nuclear Energy totally explained
Nuclear Energy is
energy due to the splitting (fission) of the
nuclei of
atom(s). The conversion of nuclear
mass to energy is consistent with the
mass-energy equivalence formula
ΔE =
Δm.c², in which
ΔE = energy release,
Δm =
mass defect, and
c = the
speed of light in a
vacuum (a
physical constant).
Nuclear energy is released by three
exoenergetic (or
exothermic) processes:
- Radioactive decay, where a neutron or proton in the radioactive nucleus decays spontaneously by emitting either particles, electromagnetic radiation (gamma rays), neutrinos (or all of them)
- Fusion, two atomic nuclei fuse together to form a heavier nucleus
- Fission, the breaking of a heavy nucleus into two (or more rarely three) lighter nuclei
Nuclear energy was first discovered by
French physicist
Henri Becquerel in
1896, when he found that photographic plates stored in the dark near
uranium were blackened like
X-ray plates, which had been just recently discovered at the time
1895.
Nuclear chemistry can be used as a form of
alchemy to turn
lead into
gold or change any atom to any other atom (albeit through many steps).
Radionuclide (radioisotope) production often involves irradiation of another
isotope (or more precisely a
nuclide), with
alpha particles,
beta particles, or
gamma rays.
Iron has the highest binding energy per
nucleon of any atom. If an atom of lower average binding energy is changed into an atom of higher average binding energy, energy is given off. The chart shows that fusion of
hydrogen, the combination to form heavier atoms, releases energy, as does fission of uranium, the breaking up of a larger nucleus into smaller parts. Stability varies between isotopes: the isotope
U-235 is much less stable than the more common
U-238.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Nuclear Energy'.
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