Nuclear Power Plant: The

Science Behind It

Slide:1
 Topics
• Nuclear fission
• Nuclear reactor
• Nuclear waste
• Radioactivity
• A Nuclear disaster
N N N
u R N u u
c a u c c
l d c l l
e i l e e
a o e a a
r a a r r They are very unstable.
c r F
d t W R i
i
i a e s
s
a v st a s
s i e c i
t t t o
e y o n
r
r
 Nuclear Fission
Elements that can cause Nuclear Fission:
• Uranium
N N
• Plutonium N
u R N u • Thorium u
c a u c c
l d c l l
e i l e They are very unstable. e
a o e a a
r a a r r
c r F
d
t W R i
i
s i a e s
a v st a s
s i e c i
t t t o
e y o n
r
r
 Uranium and its Isotopes

N N N
u R N u u
c a u c c
l d c l l
e i l e e
a o e a a
r a a r r
c r F
d
t W R i
i
s i a e s
a v st a s
s i e c i
t t t o
e y o n
r
r
 Uranium and its Isotopes

Uranium 238

N N Uranium 235 N
u R N u u
Uranium234
c a u c c
l d c l l
e i l e e
Note: Only Uranium235 is the isotope that is radioactive
a o e a And can under go nuclear fission a
r a a r r
c r F
d
t W R i
i
s i a e s
a v st a s
s i e c i
t t t o
e y o n
r
r
 Nuclear Reactor
Components of a Nuclear Reactor:
N N
u R N • Control rods u
c a u • Fuel rods c
l d c • Moderator l
e i l e
a o e a
r a a r
c r
d
t W R
i
s i a e
a v st a
s i e c
t t t
e y o
r
r
 How nuclear reaction takes place

N N
u R N u
c a u c
l d c l
e i l e
a o e a
r a a r
c r
d
t W R
i
s i a e
a v st a
s i e c
t t t
e y o
r
r
 How efficient is it?

N The fission of 1 g of uranium per day produces about 1 MW. This is

u R the energy equivalent of 3 tons of coal or about 2271.5 liters of fuel N
c a oil per day u
l d c
e i l
a o e
r a a
c r
d
t W
i
s i a
a v st
s i e
t t
e y
r
 Radioactivity
Definition: It is the emission of alpha, Beta, Gamma rays. That comes out of radio
N active elements.
u R
c a
l d
e i
a Effects being exposed to radiation: Exposure to very high levels of o
r radiation, such as being close to an atomic blast, can cause health a
effects such as skin burns and radiation syndrome (“radiation c
d sickness"). It can also result in long-term health effects such as cancer t
i and cardiovascular disease.
s i
a v
s i
t t
e y
r
 The Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster

Saturday, 26 April 1986:

The accident at reactor 4 occurred during an experiment to test a potential N
u
safety emergency core cooling feature. c
l
 2 workers died on the night of the accident e
a
 28 people died within a few weeks r
 Radiation injuries to over a hundred d
 115,000 people evacuated i
s
 220,000 people relocated a
s
 6,000 cases of thyroid cancer t
 Large areas were contaminated e
r
 The Turbine Test of Unit Reactor 4

• The physicist from the Nuclear Safety Department was not present as he was informed
the test was already performed, leading them to believe it was okay if they left.
N
• It was a turbine generator test in order to check a key safety system designed to protect u
Reactor 4 in case of a blackout. c
l
• Test was a disaster even prior to beginning. Dropped below the minimum level of e
megawatts and had to be stabilized. (Set to be done at 700 megawatts, the reactor a
had slipped past 100 megawatts) r

• Managed to stabilize it at 200 megawatts, when The supervisor requested it to start d

extracting control rods until there was almost none left. i
s
• When test began, a chain reaction formed and a blast was seen a
s
t
e
r
 After the first blast happened

The core of the reactor started to melt because of the heat which caused in even bigger
blast then the first one.
N
u
c
l
e
a
r

d
i
s
a
s
t
e
r
Possibility of Third Blast

N
u
c
l
e
a
r

d
i
s
a
s
t
e
r
 Questions

N 1. Name any two Elements that can undergo Nuclear Fission?

Q
N N
u R N u u 2. How many isotopes of uranium are there? Name them. u
c a u c c 3. How much power does 1g of uranium produces? e
l d c 4. The emission of what rays is called radioactivity?
l l s
e i l e e 5. What is the name of this presentation?
a o e
t
a a 6. Where did the disaster take place?
r a a r 7. When did the disaster take place?
i
r
c r F 8. In which reactor did the blast happened? o
d t
i
W R i n
i a
s e s s
a v st a s
s i e c i
t t t o
e y o n
r
r
Created by: Samir Ghimire Presented by: Samir Ghimire