![]() ![]() It was built by scientists and engineers at Los Alamos Laboratory using plutonium from the Hanford Site, and was dropped from the Boeing B-29 Superfortress Bockscar piloted by Major Charles Sweeney. It was the second of the only two nuclear weapons ever used in warfare, the first being Little Boy, and its detonation marked the third nuclear explosion in history. More nations are exploring the use of nuclear energy, particularly as electricity demand increases and concerns about climate change rise." Fat Man" (also known as Mark III) was the codename for the type of nuclear bomb the United States detonated over the Japanese city of Nagasaki on 9 August 1945. These plants generate around 10 percent of the world’s electricity without emitting greenhouse gases. Today, more than 400 reactors are operating in more than 30 countries. This is the energy that produces heat inside a reactor, which in turn is used to generate steam, and ultimately creates electricity.įor more than 60 years, nuclear energy has provided the world with reliable electricity. Some of this energy is from radiation, but the biggest source is kinetic energy. When these nuclei are split, a huge amount of energy is released. Inside each uranium fuel pellet, there are millions of uranium nuclei. ![]() A similar process generates heat inside a nuclear reactor.įission is the process of splitting a nucleus in two. As uranium breaks down or decays, it produces heat inside the Earth’s crust. Uranium is an abundant, naturally radioactive element found in most rocks. The steam from the turbine is cooled in a condenser and the resulting water is sent back to the steam generator.Įnriched uranium is the fuel for nuclear reactors. The water from the reactor is pumped back into the reactor vessel and reheated. The heat in these pipes is used to turn a second, isolated, supply of water to steam, which is in turn used to drive the turbine. The super-heated water is carried to a steam generator, which is made up of many small pipes. In a Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR) – the type of reactor being built in the UAE – high pressure prevents water in the reactor vessel from boiling.
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