Nuclear Energy

Nuclear Energy:
Nuclear power is generated using Uranium, which is a metal mined in various parts of the world. It can be produced by nuclear fission and/or fusion.
Nuclear power produces around11% of the world's energy needs, and produces huge amounts of energy from small amounts of fuel, without the pollution that you'd get from burning fossil fuels.

The main bit to remember:
Nuclearpower stations work in pretty much the same way as fossil fuel-burning stations, except that a "chain reaction" inside a nuclear reactor makes the heat instead.
The reactor uses Uranium rods as fuel,and the heat is generated by nuclear fission: neutrons smash into the nucleus of the uranium atoms, which split roughly in half and release energy in the form of heat.
Nuclear fusion: is the processby which two or more atomic nuclei join together, or "fuse", to form a single heavier nucleus. This is usually accompanied by the release or absorption of large quantities of energy in the form ofheat.
Carbon dioxide gas or water is pumped through the reactor to take the heat away, this then heats water to make steam.
The steam drives turbines which drive generators.
Modern nuclear powerstations use the same type of turbines and generators as conventional power stations.
The reactor is controlled with "control rods", made of boron, which absorb neutrons. When the rods are loweredinto the reactor, they absorb more neutrons and the fission process slows down. To generate more power, the rods are raised and more neutrons can crash into uranium atoms.

Should I worry aboutnuclear power?
Nuclear power stations are not atomic bombs waiting to go off, and are not prone to "meltdowns".
There is a lot of U-238 in there slowing things down - you need a high concentration ofU-235 to make a bomb.
If the reactor gets too hot, the control rods are lowered in and it cools down.
If that doesn't work, there are sets of emergency control rods that automatically drop in and...