Question

Give reasons for the following:

Nuclear energy is the energy released during the nuclear reactions involving either the fission of heavy nuclei or those involving the fusion of light nuclei.

Answer 1

1. A nucleus is made up of protons, and neutrons and nuclear energy is released from the nucleus, which is at the core of atoms.
2. Nuclear energy can be produced in two ways: either when nuclei of atoms split into several parts (fission) or when nuclei fuse together (fusion).
3. When the nucleus of an atom like uranium (U- 235) is hit by a neutron, it splits into smaller nuclei along with two or three neutrons.
4. The neutrons so emitted hit other surrounding atoms which generates some additional neutrons leading to a chain reaction in a fraction of a second.

Also, the energy in the form of heat and radiation is emitted when the reaction takes place which is used to convert water to steam and finally to electrical energy in a power plant.