Guided Notes - Nuclear Energy
Nuclear Energy is the energy contained in the ______(nucleus) of an atom. This energy can be ______(released) in two ways – ______(fission) and ______(fusion). Fission is the process of ______(splitting) atoms to make simpler atoms. When atoms are ______(split), energy is ______(released). Nuclear power plants produce energy by splitting ______(uranium) atoms. Energy can also be produced by ______(fusing), or combining, simple atoms into ______(heavier) atoms. In the sun's ______(core), hydrogen atoms ______(combine) to form helium, a heavier atom, producing ______(energy) in the process.
Nuclear energy is very ______(complicated) and very ______(expensive) to produce. Turning physics ______(ideas) into real-life ______(nucleaar) power plants, is very difficult. Companies at first thought that ______(nuclear) power was too ______(risky) to spend their money on, and lots of ______(money) is needed to build, maintain, and ______(safely) operate a nuclear power plant.
However, nuclear ______(energy) promised to produce very inexpensive ______(electricity). It also led to the possibility of the ______(United States) being independent regarding its ______(energy) needs, instead of having to ______(rely on), and pay, other countries for ______(resources) to use as fuel (such as ______(oil) and ______(gas) ). It would also allow us to possess atomic ______(weapons).
Most nuclear power plants use the ______(model) know as the “______” (“light water reactor). This type of reactor ______(heats) up water using a ______(controlled) chain reaction. A chain reaction is like a line of ______(dominoes) falling down. Nuclear ______(fission) is a chain reaction. It ______(releases) several million more times the ______(energy) that any ______(chemical) reaction could. This is what happens. A heavy ______(element) is bombarded with ______(neutrons). The element ______(absorbs) the neutrons, but the result is ______(unstable). Most of the time, it immediately ______(splits) into faster moving ______(lighter) elements, and a few loose ______(neutrons). The energy formed is ______(radiation). The radiation ______(heats) the water, and the ______(chain reaction) continues. The heated water ______(turns) giant ______(turbines), which produce ______(electricity). Ordinary water ______(controls) the reaction, and keeps it from going too ______(quickly), getting out of control, and ______(exploding) like a bomb. Nuclear power plants are ______(dangerous), and there have been several catastrophes.
Today, nuclear energy meets around ______(10%) of the world's energy demands.
Compared to other sources of ______(energy), such as oil and ______(coal), nuclear energy is the ______(safest) form of energy we have, in terms of ______(deaths) per unit of energy produced. Nuclear waste is very ______(toxic). It will kill ______(everything) and lasts virtually ______(forever). However, it is ______(stored) in containers ______(underground), while waste products from other sources of energy are ______(pumped) straight into the air, land, and ______(water). Nuclear energy ______(reduces) CO2 emissions. That helps reduce air ______(pollution) and helps slow ______(global) warming. We hope new ______(technology) will solve the problem of ______(storing) nuclear waste and enable us to build ______(safer) power plants.
On the other hand, nuclear ______(weapons) are being built, using materials also used in nuclear power plants. They could ______(destroy) all life on earth. Nuclear ______(waste) is also radioactive and contains ______(extremely) poisonous chemicals. It takes several tens of ______(thousands) of years for the waste to become harmless. We don't have ______(anywhere) to put the waste where we know it will be ______(safe) for that long. There have been seven major ______(disasters) caused by nuclear power plants. Because of these disasters, large areas of ______(Russia), the Ukraine, and ______(Japan) are unfit for life, and will be for many decades to come.
Should we continue to use and develop nuclear power? You decide.