Nuclear energy: Difference between revisions
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{{otheruses4|Nuclear Energy|the sculpture by this name|Nuclear Energy (Henry Moore sculpture)|the use of nuclear fission as a power source|Nuclear power}} |
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'''Nuclear energy''' is released by the splitting (fission) or merging together (fusion) of the [[Atomic nucleus|nuclei]] of [[atom]](s). The conversion of nuclear [[mass]] to energy is consistent with the [[mass-energy equivalence]] formula ''ΔE'' = ''Δm.c''², in which ''ΔE'' = energy release, ''Δm'' = [[mass defect]], and ''c'' = the [[speed of light]] in a [[vacuum]] (a [[physical constant]]). |
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Nuclear energy was first discovered by [[France|French]] physicist [[Henri Becquerel]] in 1896, when he found that photographic plates stored in the dark near [[uranium]] were blackened like [[X-ray]] plates, which had been just recently discovered at the time 1895.<ref>{{cite web |
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|url=http://www.aip.org/history/curie/resbr1.htm |
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|title=Marie Curie - X-rays and Uranium Rays |
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|publisher=aip.org |
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|accessdate=2006-04-10}}</ref> |
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[[Nuclear chemistry]] can be used as a form of [[alchemy]] to turn [[lead]] into [[gold]] or change any atom to any other atom (albeit through many steps).<ref>[http://chemistry.about.com/cs/generalchemistry/a/aa050601a.htm Turning Lead into Gold]</ref> [[Radionuclide]] (radioisotope) production often involves irradiation of another [[isotope]] (or more precisely a [[nuclide]]), with [[alpha particle]]s, [[beta particle]]s, or [[gamma ray]]s. |
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[[Iron]] has the highest binding energy per [[nucleon]] of any atom. If an atom of lower average binding energy is changed into an atom of higher average binding energy, energy is given off. The chart shows that fusion of [[hydrogen]], the combination to form heavier atoms, releases energy, as does fission of uranium, the breaking up of a larger nucleus into smaller parts. Stability varies between isotopes: the isotope [[Uranium-235|U-235]] is much less stable than the more common [[Uranium-238|U-238]]. |
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[[Image:Binding energy curve - common isotopes.svg|500px]] |
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Nuclear energy is released by three ''exoenergetic'' (or [[exothermic]]) processes: |
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* [[Radioactive decay]], where a neutron or proton in the [[radioactive]] nucleus decays spontaneously by emitting either particles, [[electromagnetic radiation]] (gamma rays), [[neutrinos]] (or all of them) |
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* [[nuclear fusion|Fusion]], two atomic nuclei fuse together to form a heavier nucleus |
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* [[nuclear fission|Fission]], the breaking of a heavy nucleus into two (or more rarely three) lighter nuclei |
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== References == |
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{{reflist}} |
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==See also== |
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* [[List of states with nuclear weapons]] |
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* [[Nuclear power]] |
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* [[Nuclear power by country]] |
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* [[Nuclear fission]] |
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* [[Nuclear fusion]] |
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==External links== |
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{{wikiquote}} |
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<!--Please add new links sparingly and remove any links to websites that are dead, unreliable or not very useful for readers. You should usually link to the home page or an index page rather than having multiple links to the same site. If the site covers very similar material as one that is already linked to, only link to the best one. The links are alphabetized to avoid jockeying for position of any objects.--> |
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*[http://www.ans.org/ American Nuclear Society] |
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*[http://www.lbst.de/publications/studies__e/2006/EWG-paper_1-06_Uranium-Resources-Nuclear-Energy_03DEC2006.pdf Uranium Resources and Nuclear Energy] |
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<!-- Please be careful to link only to articles about the underlying science behind nuclear energy and not to articles about applications of nuclear energy, which should instead be linked from the [[nuclear power]] article.--> |
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[[Category:Nuclear power]] |
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{{nuclear-stub}} |
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[[bg:Ядрена енергия]] |
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[[ca:Energia nuclear]] |
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[[da:Atomkraft]] |
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[[pl:Energia jądrowa]] |
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[[ru:Ядерная энергия]] |
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[[simple:Nuclear energy]] |
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[[uk:Атомна енергія]] |
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Revision as of 17:02, 10 February 2009
Steven is a weirdo and abe is cooler than him and jacob is a gamer freak whos in love with halo 3