Nuclear Energy
Nuclear energy
Nuclear energy used for electricity
Very similar to fossil fuel plants
Electricity Flow
Nuclear energy is mainly used for electricity.
More data can be found at the EIA
Fusion vs Fission
Fusion joins atomic nuclei
Sun is a fusion reaction
Fission splits atomic nuclei
Nuclear energy is a fission reaction
Fission
Electronic vs Nuclear Energy Levels
Mass Energy Equivalence
$E = mc^2$
The very high binding energy in the nucleus allows for small amounts
of fuel to release large amounts of energy
3 million times more electricity per kg than coal
Nuclear Decay
Elements become other elements (the goal of alchemists)
Iron most stable
Nuclear Fuel
Uranium Metal
Uranium Mine
Uranium Ore
Uranium Yellowcake
Nuclear Fuel Rods
Nuclear Reactor Core
Nuclear Reactor Diagram
Nuclear Waste Disposal
Half Life
Definition
Relation to carbon dating
Relevance to end of life
Plutonium 239 half life of 2400 years
Half Life
Water Fuel Storage
Above Ground Fuel Storage
Electricity Death Rates
Electricity Death Rates
Source | Deaths per TWh |
Coal | 161 |
Solar | 0.44 |
Nuclear | 0.04 |
Source: nextbigfuture.com based on WHO data
Nuclear energy
Over 430 nuclear reactors
370 GW of capacity
70 reactors under construction
About 10% of world electricity production
Nuclear Electricity Production
Nuclear Installed Capacity
Capacity vs Delivered Electricity
US Nuclear Capacity
US Nuclear Energy Production
Lifetime cost of nuclear electricity
Cost is seen as a key weakness for nuclear electricity
Plant construction
Fixed operation and maintenance
Variable operation and maintenance
Decommissioning cost
Waste disposal
Lifetime cost of nuclear electricity
cost of construction 83.4 USD/MWh
fixed operation and maintenance 11.6 USD/MWh
variable operation and maintenance (fuel) 12.3 USD/MWh
total 108.4 USD/MWh
compare to coal (65.7, 4.1, 29.2, 100.1)
compare to natural gas (17.4, 2.0, 45.0, 67.1)
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