Energy
Every single thing in the modern world works on some form of energy, most commonly used form electricity. Humans ,in short, can't live without energy hence scientists throughout the centuries have developed various methods to transform the naturally occuring energy into useful forms for human use.
The most modern (and controversial) method of achieving this is using nuclear power plants. In this blog we will be discussing on how it works.
(If you haven't read my previous blog on "Radioactivity", click here! )
NUCLEAR FISSION
Before we get to deep into the structural working of a reactor, it is important to understand the process of Nuclear fission.
We have previously discussed how the identity of an atom with too much nuclear charge changes on reaction. There, it emits certain components in the form of 'radiations' to achieve stability
Here we are going to do the opposite.
Let's take an already unstable element like Uranium and bombard it with a tiny neutron.
That tiny thing makes the entire atom fall apart, the Uranium nucleus splits into two. This splitting in turn releases more neutrons which goes and bombards the neighbouring uranium nucleus causing a chain reaction. The process of splitting releases alot of energy.
This is actually the simplre explanation of how it happens ( which tbh , you can find on the first glance in any book or the net)
But, this particular writer's curiousity lead to an obstinately crazy amount of research on this one question
Why is this energy released?
It finally lead me to rely on the research of international tongue model, Albert Einstein.
E = mc ^2
This in short shows the relation between Energy and Mass. Mass is described to be 'congealed' energy. Thus, each body of rest mass m possesses mc2 of “rest energy,” which potentially is available for conversion to other forms of energy. The mass-energy relation, moreover, implies that, if energy is released from the body as a result of such a conversion, then the rest mass of the body will decrease.
For the purpose of this blog just remember, energy and mass are proportionate to each other. So this 'rest energy' differs by mass of the body.
So both in the explanation before, we removed something from the nucleus. This removal needs work to be done ( force* displacement)
Where does this work done go?
According to E = mc^2 , this work done is converted into mass, adding to the mass of the released nucleon. So any free nucleon has more mass than the nucleons in the nucleus ( in combined state) . Conversely, when nucleons bind together to form a nucleus, they release energy, called binding energy, losing the equivalent mass.
The mass per nucleon in the nucleus, greatly depends on which atom it belongs to, the trend clearly shown in the graph below
Fission of uranium produces elements lower on the curve. That lowered mass per nucleon converts to energy via E = mc2.
So that is why energy is released.
The Nuclear reactors are built to make use of this reaction
NUCLEAR REACTORS
Just like most other power plants, nuclear reactors too follow the basic process of converting heat energy into mechanical -- water is converted to steam which turns turbines.
The main components include
* The Core: It contains the fuel, in this case Uranium
⦁ The Coolant: It passes through the core, absorbing the heat and transferring into turbines, usually water
⦁ The Turbine: Transfers energy into the mechanical form
* Control Rods : helps control the process
⦁ The Cooling Tower: It eliminates the excess heat that is not converted or transferred
⦁ The Containment: The enveloping structure that separated the nuclear reactor from the surrounding environment.
The Uranium core follows the process of fission and continously releases energy due to the chain reaction. The energy released heats the coolant, here water converting it into steam. The steam turns the turbines which in turn give power generators.
Control rods , made with neutron-absorbing material such as cadmium, hafnium or boron, and are inserted or withdrawn from the core to control the rate of reaction, or to halt it.
This is the end of my attempts to explain the entire working of a nuclear reactor under a 3 min read 🙌
So to close it off with a meme
< why is this meme so true? 😂😅>
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