How is nuclear energy produced and what is the process?

Question

also how inexpensive is nuclear energy? are we really saving money switching to this process

Answer 1

Nuclear power generates electricity the same way as a coal or natural gas power plant, that is by boiling water to make steam, that in turn turns a generator. The difference is where the heat to boil water comes from.

In nuclear energy, there is a reactor that contains uranium rods, this is the fuel, when a controlled nuclear reaction is set off, the reactor generates a tremendous amount of heat, water is used to cool the reactor, and the resulting steam is used to generate the electricity.

Nuclear does not produce air pollution, however it does produce a decent amount of highly radioactive waste, if this waste is handled and disposed of safely, nuclear energy can have very little impact on the environment.

Nuclear energy is relatively cheap once it is up and running. The startup cost of building a power generating reactor is sizeable however. In the long run nuclear energy is able to produce huge amounts of electricity at cheaper prices.

Answer 2

It can be expensive. Using Nuclear energy is actually a very good idea in theory, as no pollutants are released. And this saves money, in answer to your question, as less has to be done to repair the environmental damage. However the damage caused by nuclear waste can be shocking and terrible. The damage it causes can be exceedingly expensive.

Answer 3

WTF?

Answer 4

"Nuclear energy" in this context means electricity generated by use of a nuclear reaction.  Wikipedia is always a good place to start for general descrptions:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_pow...

In a nutshell, nuclear reactors create splits in certain atoms (usually uranium).  The forces holding these atoms together are very strong, and by splitting the atoms, some of this energy is released, much of it as heat.  The purpose of the reaction is to generate this heat, in much the same way that burning coal or natural gas creates heat.  After that, the heat is used the same way that heat from any other source is used to generate electricity, i.e., by operating steam-powered turbine generators that produce electricity.

The cost is a complex question.  In terms of fuel alone, nuclear power is inexpensive and will become more so in comparison to fossil fuels, as world-wide supplies of fossil fuels diminish.  The US has huge supplies of uranium, and using that resource to produce electricity would allow us to avoid buying fossil fuels on the world market, which will become more and more expensive as time goes by.  We have enough uranium to last us hundreds of years if used for electrical power generation.

Nuclear power plants are expensive to build and operate, however, and disposal of the waste is also expensive.  So, the overall costs, when taking everything into account, may be higher that fossil fuels at the present time.  Remember, however, that the cost of fossil fuels is escalating at an alarming rate, and eventually this situation may reverse.

In the long run, yes, I believe we will be saving money by switching to nuclear power for electricity.  Not to mention the environmental benefits, such as reduced air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.

Answer 5

the fact that they do not get buitl without massive government subsidies might tell you something about the economics. without aid, the cost of installation and in particular decommission would make it more expensive than most other generation with non renewable fuels.

Answer 6

nuclear energy is produced by the nuclear reactions being in a rod shaped form from there they are submerged in water and the heat from the reactions boils the water which in turn makes steam that powers a turbine

compared to coal burning power facilites are better on the environment and less expensive on a day to day basis the ultimate thing about nuclear energy is when the fuel rods themselves become worn they have to be burried deep in the earth because of the radiation this being the main draw back of nuclear energy