Wilhelm Ostwald Antoine Henri Becquerel Harold C.

Urey
(1853) (1898) (1934)
 Nuclear Reaction

Nuclear Fission Nuclear Fusion

Nuclear electricity generation by top five countries, 2014

Country Nuclear Share of country's total

electricity electricity generation
generation
(billion
kilowatthours)
United States 797 19%
France 418 78%
Russia 169 17%
South Korea 149 29%
China 124 2%
Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration Statistics, as of May 24, 2017
How Nuclear Energy Works
There are currently 447
operable civil nuclear
reactors around the world,
with a further 61 under
construction.
Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR)

Boiling Water Reactor (BWR)

Pressurized Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR)

Advanced Gas-Cooled Reactor (AGR)

most common type with
over 280 operable for
power generation

uses water as moderator

and coolant

consists primary cooling

circuit and secondary circuit

contains 150-250 fuel

assemblies of
200-300 rods each
consists only a single circuit

designed to operate with

12-15% of the water in the
top part of the core as steam

comprises 90-100 fuel rods,

and there are up to 750
assemblies
use natural uranium (0.7% U-
235) oxide as fuel,
uses heavy water moderator,
D2O (Heavy water is a form of water that
contains a larger than normal amount of the
hydrogen isotope deuterium, rather than the
common hydrogen-1 isotope that makes up
most of the hydrogen in normal water)

fuel assembly consists of a bundle

of 37 half metre long fuel rods
(ceramic fuel pellets in zircaloy
tubes) plus a support structure,
with 12 bundles lying end to end
in a fuel channel
uses graphite moderator and
carbon dioxide as coolant

fuel is uranium oxide pellets,

enriched to 2.5-3.5%, in
stainless steel tubes

carbon dioxide circulates through

the core, reaching 650°C and then
past steam generator tubes
outside it,
 PROS CONS

Low Pollution Envrionmental Impact

Low Operating Cost Radioactive Waste Disposal

Reliability Nuclear Accidents

More Proficient than Fossil Fuels High Cost

Renewable? Hot Target for Millitants