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93 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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What are the two types of nuclear energy?
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fission and fusion
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What type of nuclear energy reaction occurs in all operating nuclear reactors today?
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fission
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What happens in nuclear fission?
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large atoms are split into smaller atoms
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What happens in nuclear fusion?
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small atoms are combined to make larger atoms
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What are some uses of radiation?
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diagnosis and treatment of disease - X-rays or radiation treatment for cancer, tanning beds
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What happened involving nuclear energy in the 1940s and why?
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Manhattan Project to develop the atomic bomb and end the war - Einstein said that Germany was working on it
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What happened involving nuclear energy between the 1950s and the early 1970s and why?
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We developed many reactors and planned many more because it was such promising technology with huge energy potential
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What happened involving nuclear energy after 1975 and why?
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Many reactor facilities were shut down, and plans for more were halted because of accidents at Cherynobyl and 3 Mile Island
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What is happening now involving nuclear energy and why?
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We are trying to start more reactors again because of climate change and the idea that a good nuclear facility doesn't release CO2.
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Where is Chernyobyl, and what happened?
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Ukraine - complete meltdown - explosion - release of radiation - no containment building
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Where is 3-Mile Island, and what happened?
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Pennsylvania - partial meltdown but was contained
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What caused the accidents at Cherynobyl and 3-Mile Island? How do people think they can be prevented?
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human error - more checks and balances
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How many nuclear reactors are in the United States, and how much of our energy do they produce?
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103 - 21%
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What country makes most of its energy from nuclear?
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France
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What part of a nuclear reactor is made of U-235?
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fuel rods
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What part of a nuclear reactor slows the neutrons?
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moderator
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What part of a nuclear reactor can be raised or lowered and absorbs neutrons to slow the reaction?
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control rods
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If a nuclear reactor is going to make electricity, the reaction heats what to make what?
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water - steam
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The steam generated by the heating of water turns a what?
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turbine
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The turbine turns metal in a magnetic field to generate what?
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electricity
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What chemical is the moderator in all U.S. nuclear facilities?
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pure water
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What part of a nuclear power plant makes electricity?
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turbogenerator
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What part of a nuclear power plant dissipates excess heat to the air?
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cooling tower
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What is the most common fuel in nuclear reactors?
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uranium 235
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U-235 and U238 are what?
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isotopes of uranium
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Which isotope of uranium is common?
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U238
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What type of uranium isotope is needed in fuel rods?
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U-235
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What is the term for the process of purifying U-235?
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enrichment
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For what is highly enriched uranium 235 used?
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nuclear weapons
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How is uranium obtained?
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mined
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Is nuclear energy renewable or nonrenewable? Explain.
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non-renewable - limited amount
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What gets a nuclear reaction started?
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uranium is bombarded with neutrons
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What keeps a chain reaction going?
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the split atoms also release neutrons which hit other uraniums
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What is the difference in a nuclear reactor and a nuclear bomb?
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controlled chain reaction occurs in a reactor releasing small amounts of energy a little at a time- uncontrolled chain reaction occurs in a bomb
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atoms of the same element with an unusual number of neutrons
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isotope
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atom of the same element with an unusual number of electrons making it unstable so it decays emitting particles or energy
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radioactive isotope - radioisotope
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What are three big fears that need to be dealt with?
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fear of meltdown
fear of wastes - how to dispose properly fear of terrorism |
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The structure around a nuclear reactor
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containment building
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What is the problem with disposing of radioactive wastes?
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takes so long to become not radioactive and as long as it is, it can make people very sick - cancer...
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the period of time it takes for a radioactive material to decay
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half life
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Give the range of half-lives
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seconds to many hundreds of thousands of years
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How long does the NRC think we should allow radioactive wastes to decay before they are safe enough to interact with?
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10 half lives or a million years
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Which gives off more emissions, coal or nuclear energy?
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coal
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Give some examples of coal emissions and their problems.
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CO2 - climate change
nitrous oxides and sulfur oxides - acid rain soot - respiratory problems |
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Why is nuclear energy still having trouble making a comeback?
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public opinion - fear and mistrust
costs too much to build and dismantle |
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How long are nuclear facilities working on average? How long did we think they would last?
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17 years - 40 years
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What damages nuclear facilities?
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embrittlement and corrosion
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What incentives are being given to get nuclear facilities built?
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tax incentives, subsidies and protection from liability if something goes wrong
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What are 5 biological effects of radiation?
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cancer
birthdefects mental retardation stop cell division radiation poisoning death |
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Who discovered nuclear energy in 1896, and how?
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Becquerel - uranium exposed photographic plate in a drawer
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Where is nuclear energy found?
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in the nucleus of atoms - holds protons and neutrons together
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What type of nuclear reaction occurs in stars? What is produced?
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nuclear fusion - heat and light
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What is meant by the term fissionable?
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can split
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Who is responsible for the equation E=mc2
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Einstein
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What is E=mc2 a representation of? WHat do the letters stand for?
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mass to energy conversion
E - energy m - mass c - speed of light |
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What is the name of the nuclear power facility in Missouri?
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Callaway Plant
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What part of the nuclear energy process keeps many countries from developing the technology, and why?
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enriching means exceptionally specific tools to separate isotopes
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What % U-235 is
reactor grade weapons grade |
3-4%
90% |
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What percent U-235 is in uranium ore?
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less than 1%
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Into what does uranium decay?
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lead
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What is the major difference between a pressurized water reactor and a boiling water reactor?
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PWR - water is at high enough pressure to prevent boiling - less dangerous
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What are the three types of radiation, and what is each composed of?
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alpha particle - helium nucleus
beta particle - electron gamma ray - high frequency wavelengths of energy |
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all the wavelengths of energy make up what?
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electromagnetic spectrum
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What is the difference between ionizing and non-ionizing radiation
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ionizing changes atoms and makes them react in the body disrupting function - non-ionizing does not
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Give some examples of non-ionizing radiation.
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visible light, tv waves, radiowaves, microwaves
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Give some examples of ionizing radiation.
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gamma rays, x-rays, alpha particles, beta particles
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What is the least protective layer to stop each type of radiation?
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alpha - paper
beta - plastic gamma - lead |
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What was the purpose of the Price-Anderson Act?
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protect nuclear facilities from liability
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What is the oversight group for nuclear energy?
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NRC - nuclear regulatory commission
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What does the NRC do?
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licenses
sets guidelines control materials inspects facilities |
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What does the 238 stand for in U-238?
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mass of uranium - protons plus neutrons
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What period of time in US history were most nuclear power plants constructed?
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1960-1975
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Where did the US Congress decide we should store long-term radioactive wastes?
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Yucca Mountain, Nevada
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Where does the biggest amount of radioactive waste come from?
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dismantling the plant
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From what source did the wastes that have contaminated Lake Karachay in Russia originate?
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nuclear weapons
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What does LOCA stand for?
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loss of coolant accident
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What is the result of a LOCA?
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steam explosion
meltdown spread radioactivity increase cancer rates |
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a difference between exposure to low dose and high dose radiation is
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the rate at which its effects are seen - low dose happens slowly
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Which has a larger environmental impact, mining coal or uranium?
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mining coal
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What is the difference between passive and active safety measures?
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passive - virtually fail-proof with gravity and temperature responses
active - operators or electrical devices control it |
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What isotope is produced by nuclear reactors and is used in atomic weapons?
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Pu239
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Normal operation of nuclear power facilities releases (more or less) radiation that coal plants.
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less
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What is background radiation?
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radiation we are exposed to through natural sources like space and the earth's crust
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What are some sources of background radiation?
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sun
rock and stone building materials cosmic rays radon |
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What is reprocessing?
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recovering leftover U235 and Pu for use as fuel
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What kind of pollution do nuclear and coal plants have in common?
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thermal pollution
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How are U235 and U238 different? similar
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number of neutrons and mass, number of protons and electrons (92)
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How was Cherynobyl different from 3 Mile Island?
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Cherynobyl - complete meltdown, no containment building, lots of radiation release
3 Mile Island - partial meltdown, containment building, little release of radiation |
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What is the half-life of plutonium?
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24,000 years
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What is an advantage of a breeder reactor?
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uses U238 (more common)
makes fuel as it goes |
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What is a potential benefit of nuclear fusion?
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no harmful wastes
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the process by which radioisotopes break down into stable atoms by emitting particles and energy
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radioactive decay
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Where are most spent fuel rods stored at this time?
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on site in pools of water
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