1. Nuclear Power

2. PHYSICS PROJECT
ON NUCLEAR POWER
Prepared by - Mayank Agarwal

3. NUCLEAR POWER
Nuclear power is the use of sustained nuclear
fisson to generate heat and electricity.
Nuclear power plants provide about 6% of the
world’s energy 13-14% of the world’s
electricity, with U.S.,
France and Japan together accounting for
about 50% of nuclear generated electricity. In
2007, the
IAEA reported there were 439 nuclear
power reactors in operations in the world,
operating in 31 countries

4. PURPOSE
The purpose of a nuclear power plant is not
to produce or release “Nuclear Power.” The
purpose of a nuclear power plant is to
produce electricity. It should not be
surprising, then, that a nuclear power plant
has many similarities to other electrical
generating facilities. It should also be obvious
that nuclear power plants have some
significant differences from other plants

5. Prevailing Views before the Discovery
 Modern atomic theory by John Dalton
in the early years of the 19th century
 Each chemical element is
composed of atoms of a SINGLE,
unique type, and that though they are
both immutable and indestructible,
they can combine to form more
complex structures
 The total mass in a chemical
reaction remains CONSTANT

6. E=MC2
This equation, by Einstein, was published in in
1905.
 It suggested that especially small
amounts of matter can produce especially
large amount of energy.
This theory sparked interest around the world
which lead to the discovery of nuclear power

7. Splitting the Atom
 John Cockcroft and Ernest Walton
were given credit for first splitting the
atom in 1932.
 Using an 800-kilovolt transformer,
they accelerated protons down and 8ft
tube.
 The protons slammed into a lithium
atom thus splitting the atom in half.

8. Nuclear Fission
 This term was coin in 1938 by Lisa
Meitner while she, Otto Hahn, Fitz
Strassmann, and Otto Frisch were splitting
uranium atoms.
 They found that sending a neutron
through a uranium atom results in a
lighter atom and a burst of energy.
 Meitner and Frisch then calculated the
energy produced thus proving Einstein’s
E=MC2.

9. Self-Sustaining Reaction
 Enrico Fermi had same results in 1934
but didn’t realize he was actually splitting
atoms. He was focusing on the
radioactivity produced
 By 1940, Fermi confirmed that nuclear
fission can produce a self-sustaining
reaction

10. Nuclear Weapon
 An explosive device that derives its
destructive force from nuclear reactions,
either fission or a combination of fission
and fusion.
A fission bomb uses radiation
to compress and heat a separate section of
fusion fuel.

11. The United States is the only nation to have
ever used nuclear weapons during war, using
two atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of
Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945

13. Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty
 A treaty to limit the spread of nuclear
weapons
 Opened for signature on July 1, 1968
 There are currently 189 countries
party to the treaty, five of which have
nuclear weapons: the United States, the
United Kingdom, France, Russia,The
People's Republic of China, India.

14. Nuclear Energy
The sun and stars are seemingly
inexhaustible sources of energy. That energy
is the result of nuclear reactions, in which
matter is converted to energy. We have been
able to harness that mechanism and
regularly use it to generate power. Presently,
nuclear energy provides for approximately
16% of the world's electricity. Unlike the
stars, the nuclear reactors that we have
today work on the principle of nuclear
fission. Scientists are working like madmen
to make fusion reactors which have the
potential of providing more energy with
fewer disadvantages than fission reactors.

15. Nuclear Energy
• Nuclear Energy Started about 35 years
ago in 1973, because of the oil crisis
• In 1973 17% of US electric power was
produced from oil, while in 1990 only 4%
of oil was used to produce electricity
• In 1973 nuclear energy produced 5% of
US electricity, in 1990 21%.
• As of 2005, nuclear power provided 6.3%
of the world's energy and 15% of the
world's electricity,

17. Advantages of Nuclear Energy
The Earth has limited supplies of coal and
oil. Nuclear power plants could still produce
electricity after coal and oil become scarce.
Nuclear power plants need less fuel than
ones which burn fossil fuels. One ton of
uranium produces more energy than is
produced by several million tons of coal or
several million barrels of oil.
Coal and oil burning plants pollute the air.
Well-operated nuclear power plants do not
release contaminants into the environment.