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How Does Nuclear Energy Get From the Plant to the Customer?

http://education.seattlepi.com/nuclear-energy-plant-customer-4802.html

Educationby Demand Media

by Kevin Lee, Demand Media

Tiny particles, impossible to see with the naked eye, can release tremendous amounts of energy that you can convert into electricity. Nuclear power plants harness the power of the atom to produce clean electricity that works just as well as energy generated by coal plants. Electricity from nuclear power begins its journey to customers in a nuclear reactor.

Heat: The Driving Force

A lot of high tech equipment may reside in a nuclear power plant, but simple water, heat and steam help create electricity. Heat warms the water, the water turns to steam, and the steam drives a turbine that turns mechanical energy into electricity. In traditional power plants, burning coal may provide heat. In a nuclear power plant, fission — a process where atoms split — generates enough heat to create steam.

Controlled Nuclear Reactions

Nuclear weapons and nuclear reactors work by splitting atoms made of fissionable material, such as uranium or plutonium. After neutrons in this material strike atoms, the atoms release energy as well as neutrons that strike more atoms. This chain reaction releases large amounts of energy quickly in a nuclear weapon. Reactors in nuclear power plants trigger the fission process in a safer, more controlled manner that causes no explosion.

Power from Steam

Pressurized water reactors, or PWRs, allow water to heat without boiling. As fission occurs in the reactor, water flows through tubes in a steam generator. Steam flowing from the generator drives a turbine that turns an electrical power generator. Electricity from that generator then flows through power lines to businesses and homes. In boiling water reactors, or BWRs, boiling water generates the steam that converts the power generator’s turbine. Nuclear power plants recycle water by using cooling towers or condenser tubes to turn steam back into water.

Benefits and Risks

As of January 2014, 31 states had a total of 65 commercial nuclear power plants. They help supplement the nation’s energy by supplying 20 percent of all U.S. electricity. Nuclear power plants are also useful because unlike coal plants, they do not produce carbon dioxide and other pollutants. However, there are concerns about the radioactive waste that nuclear power plants create. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission helps protect the public by regulating the way nuclear power plants manage and store this waste.