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Nuclear Energy

This form of energy production is based on releasing a lot of energy that heats up a reservoir of water. The system involves a hot and cold reservoir with an engine in between.

The energy is released from a nuclear reaction of the following form:

neutron + U235 -> U 236 (very unstable) -> fragment + fragment + extra neutrons

The fragments are usually two medium mass nucleii, that differ with each fission event. The extra neutrons repeat the process, initiating a chain reaction. The amount of pure uranium-235 is limited, but there are also breeder reactions which bombard a non radioactive isotope with neutrons, creating a fissionable isotope, which is then used as fuel for a reactor. These breeder reactions can occur with uranium-238 or thorium-232, both of which provide us with enough energy for millions of years.

Other links for Nuclear Energy

Nuclear Power Basics
Basic and history of Nuclear Power, and the Atomic Structure

Nuclear Stucture
Rules of Atomic Decay, Nuclear binding energy, and some animination of different processes

How a Nuclear Reactor Works
Basic Idea of Fission Reaction, Types of reactors, uranium resourses, and how a reactor works

Nuclear Waste Management
The Problem of Nuclear Waste Disposal, Methods of Burial of Waste, and other different products and issues