Nuclear power plants have increased over the United States since the 1940s. In the states, there are 99 nuclear power plants. With all these plants, nearly three million Americans live within 10 miles of one. Citizens of Yankton live fairly close to a nuclear power plant which is Pathfinder Nuclear Generating Station located near the city of Sioux Falls.
During the 1960, Sioux Falls was a hub of industry and productivity in South Dakota at the time. This made Sioux Falls the ideal place for the world’s first ever nuclear generating station, Pathfinder Nuclear Generating Station. With all the factories around the area, there was a great need for energy. The factory opened it doors in July of 1966 to open a tourist stop for many visitors. A problem soon occurred with the superheater, which only had a grand total of thirty minutes running in the station. It was an expensive repair for the the nuclear power plant so they decided to not repair it. With a run of little under a year, the plant closed down in October of 1967. For safety measures for the citizens around Sioux Falls, the reactor vessel was taken out and shipped away in 1990. For there wasn’t empty factory, the plant was created into a coal and gas station. Tourists can still visit the nuclear power plant for a little bit of history. …show more content…
The isotopes that reacts are U-235 and U-238. The nucleus of the isotope U-235 is unstable and reacts easily. If anyone would go to a nuclear power plant, they will see that majority of the uranian there is U-238. The plants use the process of fission, which is the splitting of atoms of uranium in reactors. Uranium atoms start hitting each other which leads to splitting of the atoms. This sparks fission to start and once one atom begins to hit, it starts a chain reaction. Control rods are placed in to help accelerate or slow down the splitting of uranium
During the 1960, Sioux Falls was a hub of industry and productivity in South Dakota at the time. This made Sioux Falls the ideal place for the world’s first ever nuclear generating station, Pathfinder Nuclear Generating Station. With all the factories around the area, there was a great need for energy. The factory opened it doors in July of 1966 to open a tourist stop for many visitors. A problem soon occurred with the superheater, which only had a grand total of thirty minutes running in the station. It was an expensive repair for the the nuclear power plant so they decided to not repair it. With a run of little under a year, the plant closed down in October of 1967. For safety measures for the citizens around Sioux Falls, the reactor vessel was taken out and shipped away in 1990. For there wasn’t empty factory, the plant was created into a coal and gas station. Tourists can still visit the nuclear power plant for a little bit of history. …show more content…
The isotopes that reacts are U-235 and U-238. The nucleus of the isotope U-235 is unstable and reacts easily. If anyone would go to a nuclear power plant, they will see that majority of the uranian there is U-238. The plants use the process of fission, which is the splitting of atoms of uranium in reactors. Uranium atoms start hitting each other which leads to splitting of the atoms. This sparks fission to start and once one atom begins to hit, it starts a chain reaction. Control rods are placed in to help accelerate or slow down the splitting of uranium