NuclearFission

NuclearFission is the one of processes by which NuclearFuels produce their Energy. The other process, NuclearFusion, has not yet been shown to be practical in a controllable setting (you can make big bombs using this process though).

When NuclearGenerators first offered the possibility of becoming practical, it appeared that they would produce Energy more or less for free. However, it turns out to be a pretty expensive form of generation. The reasons for this are complex:

- Safety concerns make the plants expensive. This is both because of

the use of NuclearFuels, extreme heat, and for some forms of plant highly reactive substances like molten sodium (which will explode on contact with water). So far as I know, no NuclearGenerator has ever caused a NuclearExplosion, although the Three Mile Island event got close. The best known explosion, Chernobyl, was actually cause by Hyrdrogen, produced as a result of Heat.

- A lot of RadioActive and contaminated waste is produced.

- Worries about all of the above make planning, building and security

fairly expensive.

- Certainly in the UK, people tend to want the plants sited a good

distance away from major population centres. This makes transmission expensive. Additionally, WasteHeat can be not used usefully for heating homes or other buildings.

Although, NuclearFission has long been the butt of the EnvironmentalMovement, there is now a NewNuclearDebate among the movement and in the larger community. It's unclear what the result is going to be.


Updated: 06-05-08
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