Download - Chapter 16 – Nuclear Energy
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Chapter 16 – Nuclear Energy
Alternate to Fossil Fuels
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16.1 Atoms and Radioactivity
All matter consists of atoms
All atoms contain:
Protons ( + charge) found in nucleus
Electrons (– charge) orbit around the nucleus
Neutrons (neutral charge) found in nucleus
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16.1 Atoms and Radioactivity
Atomic number equals the number of protons and electrons in one atom of any element
Atomic Mass is the amount of stuff contained in one atom of an element
Subtract the Atomic number from the Atomic mass to get the number of neutrons
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16.1 Atoms and Radioactivity
Isotope:
Atoms of the same element can have different Atomic masses.
The mass changes because nucleus has a different number of neutrons
Ex: Uranium has isotope of U235 and U238
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16.1 Radioactivity Isotopes can be stable
or unstable
Unstable isotopes release energy in the form of protons or neutrons to become stable
Marie Curie – Nobel scientist, was the first person to use radioactive to describe the release of energy
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16.1 Radioactivity Three kinds of energy
given off by radioactive isotopes are
Alpha particles (2 protons and 2 neutrons) changes atomic mass and number or radioactive decay
Beta particles (high speed electrons)
Gamma rays (electromagnetic radiation)
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16.1 Radioactivity Half-Life
The amount of time in which half of the atoms in a sample of radioactive element.
Radioactive compounds take from days to thousands of years to lose only one-half of their total radioactive energy
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16.2 Reactions and Reactors
Nuclear fission: reaction where the nucleus of a large atom breaks into smaller nuclei
The fission of U235 shows how a neutron hits the Uranium nucleus causing it to split into two smaller (daughter) nuclei and release two neutrons to hit two more Uranium atoms in a chain reaction
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16.2 Nuclear ReactorsNUCELAR REACTORS
PRODUCE ELECTRICITY
• FISSION OF U235 PRODUCES HEAT
• HEAT BOILS WATER TO MAKE STEAM
• STEAM TURNS TURBINES WHICH GENERATE ELECTRICITY
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Parts of a Nuclear Reactor
Fisson takes place in a REACTOR VESSEL
The U235 in packed into FUEL RODS
The rods are surrounded by WATER that COOLS and SLOWS NEUTRONS
CONTROLL RODS slow down the reaction
The heated water produces STEAM that turns the TURBINES that generate ELECTRICITY
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Breeder Reactors Breeder Reactors can
PRODUCE THEIR OWN FUEL
Uses Plutonium239 core surrounded by stable Uranium238.
Uranium captures a neutron from Plutonium and becomes U239 which is unstable
This CHAIN REACTION between Plutonium and Uranium produces energy and heat
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Radioactive Waste Nuclear power plants produce lots
of HIGH-LEVEL radioactive waste such as fuel and control rods, coolant (water or sodium) and the reactor vessel.
High-level waste can cause burns, severe DNA damage, radiation sickness and death
Hospitals, mining, contaminated clothing from power plants are considered MEDIUM-LOW LEVEL radioactive waste.
Low-level waste causes DNA damage, increased risk of cancer and other health problems
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RADIOACTIVE Waste Disposal
HALF-LIFE of most radioactive compounds is hundreds to thousands of years.
U235 has a half-life of 4.5 BILLION years
Plutonium239 has a half-life of 24,000 years
They will be toxic for generations to come.
Bury low and medium-level wastes (Yucca Mountain –Utah)
High-level wastes are stored at the nuclear reactors