How does nuclear energy work???

Assalamualaikum w.b.t.

Do you know how does nuclear energy work??? Maybe you all just know that nuclear energy is formed by reaction of radioactive energy, but you don't know the process to form this energy. If you already know, it's really good, and just read this to add up your knowledge. Okay, now I'll share on the process at the nuclear reactors.

How does nuclear energy work? The process

All nuclear reactors now in operation use nuclear fission (link to advantages of nuclear energy). Nuclear fission is the process where the nucleus (hence 'nuclear' energy) of a 'heavy', fissionable atom is split. Enormous amounts of energy are released in this process.

This energy, in the form of heat is transferred to steam turbines to generate electricity. So, apart from the source of energy, a nuclear energy plant is in essence no different from any fossil fuel power plant. Both use the energy source to generate heat to drive turbines that generate electricity. Electricity is then fed into a grid for domestic and industrial use.

An atom’s nucleus can only split if it is ‘fissionable’. Only the nuclear isotopes Uranium 235 (U235), Plutonium 239 and Uranium 238 are of this type. Only U235 occurs naturally. The other isotopes are created in the U235’s fission process.

This transformation occurs as in the fission process neutrons bombard the U235 at high speed and penetrate its atoms. Fission happens when a nucleus absorbs a neutron and splits into two nuclei that now have a different composition.

Uranium as it is found contains only about 0.7% of U235 and much of the rest is uranium 238 with which it is much more difficult to achieve fission. It can be achieved with ‘fast breeder reactors’, which can blast neutrons at speeds high enough to penetrate and spit the U238’s nucleus.

Therefore fast breeder reactors are more efficient users of uranium than the common thermal reactors—in fact 60 times more so—and leave far less radioactive waste. They can reuse the current nuclear waste stockpiles. Such reactors can also use thorium, a far more abundant material than uranium but containing mostly U238. There is now only one fast breeder reactor in service but scientists hope that in about 15 years more will come on stream.

source : http://www.alternate-energy-sources.com/how-does-nuclear-energy-work.html