NUCLEAR REACTOR-HOW IS IT WORK?

NUCLEAR REACTOR:

Nuclear power, it is commonly said, holds the key to the future. Atomic or nuclear power is obtained by altering the structure of atoms.

When such an alteration is made, much energy is released in the form of heat and this is used to generate electric power. For obtaining atomic power, nuclear fission is required, which takes place in a nuclear reactor containing a heat-producing core and a cooling system.

Within the core, atoms of the fuel, usually uranium, enriched uranium or plutonium, are split. The heat released by the reactor is used to generate steam and the steam is used to generate electricity. The first nuclear power station was built in Britain in 1956 at Calder Hall.

In comparison to other traditional fossil fuels as energy sources, nuclear power produces enormous amount of energy. No other source of energy can produce such amount of power from a very small quantity of material. It has been estimated that only 1 ton of uranium produces energy equivalent to the energy produced by 5 million tons of coal.

Though, building of nuclear reactor and other installation costs are very high, operative cost and per unit energy production cost and other recurring expenses are very low in nuclear power. But while establishing nuclear power station much care is necessary because not only generation but its waste is also one of the greatest threats to the environment.

The major sources of nuclear power are uranium and thorium. The other minerals like plutonium, barium, zircon, monoxide, etc., are also considered as atomic minerals.

Uranium is the most important mineral widely used for the production of atomic energy. The principal producers of uranium are Canada, Australia, Niger, Russia, USA, Uzbekistan, South Africa, Kazakhstan, Czech Republic, France, China, Gabon and Hungary. India also produces small quantity of uranium.

Canada is the largest producer of uranium contributing about 31 per cent of the world s output. Australia holds the largest reserve of recoverable uranium in the world – over 517 thousand tons followed by Canada, USA, Russia, South Africa, Niger, Brazil and Ukraine.

Thorium is another metal used in atomic power production. Thorium is generally extracted from monoxide sand. Australia, Brazil, Nigeria, USA and Canada are principal producers of thorium. Kerala coast in India is also having monoxide sand.