Neuclear Power
Most of the world's electricity is generated by either thermal orhydroelectric power plants. Thermal power plants use fuel to boil waterwhich makes steam. The steam turns turbines that generate electricity.Hydroelectric power plants use the great force of rushing water from adam or a waterfall to turn the turbines.The majority of thermal power plants burn fossil fuels because thermalpower plants are cheaper to maintain and have to meet less of thegovernments requirements compared to nuclear power plants. Fossil fuelsare coal and oil. The downfall of using fossil fuels is that they arelimited. Fossil fuels are developed from the remains of plants andanimals that died millions of years ago. Burning fossil fuels has otherdownfalls, too. All the burning that is required to turn the turbinesreleases much sulfur, nitrogen gases, and other pollutants into theThe cleanest, cheapest, and least polluting power plant of the two typesis the hydroelectric power plant. The main reason most countries usethermal versus the hydroelectric is because their countries don't haveenough concentrated water to create enough energy to generateelectricity. (World Book vol. 14, 586)
The water is a radioactive shield andcoolant. Spent fuel ishighly radioactive and is the primary form of high-level nuclear waste. After this extensive time, thehigh-level waste should no longer be radioactive enough to harm thepublic health. (General Information) High-level radioactive waste is the by-product of commercial nuclearpower plants generating electricity, and from nuclear materialsproduction at defense facilities. (General Information) A rem is a unit scientist use to measure radiation exposure. (Shulman, 14)The cooling pools are a type of concrete warehouse. Once every year, one third of the nuclear fuel in a reactor is replacedwith fresh fuel. A free neutron from the nucleus that just splitsplits another nucleus. So, uranium is, in a sense, thecoal of a coal-fired power plant. In the late 1980's, government industry researchers became concernedthat if the rods were too closely stored in the pools, a nuclearreaction would occur. There will also be more than 8,000 metric tons ofhigh-level waste from defense programs. For someone to receive 75-200 rems of exposure, vomiting, fatigue, andloss of appetite would occur. 14, 588)The fission process is used to create heat, which boils water inside thenuclear reactor. The used-up fuel is called spent fuel.
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