Generation From Nuclear Fission

Abstract

Abstract The fundamental process on which nuclear power depends—the fission of uranium—is the cause both of its environmental advantages and of its chief disadvantage (fusion is discussed in Chapter 4). The fission process involves the release of very large amounts of energy. The energy released when one atom of carbon (coal) combines with one molecule of oxygen is 7 x 10-19 J. The energy released from the fission of one uranium nucleus is 3.2x10-11 J, about fifty million times greater. In terms of weight of fuel, the total fissioning of one ton of uranium would therefore be equivalent to the burning of 2.7 million tons of coal. Because so little uranium can produce so much energy, the transport and storage of fuel presents few problems. Less land is needed than for fossil-fired stations because there is no need for a coal store or oil tanks, power stations do not have to be sited near to the source of fuel or by railway lines or ports, and the quantity of waste to be disposed of is very small compared, in particular, with that produced by coal-fired stations. However, the fission process also results in the production of radioactive materials and very considerable resources have to be devoted to the protection of workers and members of the public from the radiation that these materials emit.