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Physical Science: Nuclear Energy

Added May 13, 2019 •

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Nuclear Energy Video Questions

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when it comes right down to it nuclear energy is vital for the survival of life on Earth it's the energy that powers the Sun and gives us the end like we need to thrive for billions of years nuclear energy has been produced naturally in every star in the universe over the last century humans have also learned how to generate it creating some tough questions for society along the way nuclear energy gets its name because it involves the central part or nucleus of an atom scientist discovered that when changes happen to the structure of the nucleus energy is released there are two ways this can happen the first is a process called fission during fishing the nucleus of an atom splits into two or more parts the total weight for mass of these parts is less than the weight of the original atom lost Max gets released as energy the other process known as Fusion energy is released when the nuclei of at least two atoms joined together this is how the sun gets its power scientists have found a way to create Fusion reactions on Earth and we now regularly use fishing in several ways we've built power plants that produce nuclear energy with machines called nuclear reactors these reactors provide elect about 16% of the world nuclear energy is also used in medicine to help scientists diagnose and treat disease but along with these advantages come dangers of stag abortions if nuclear reactions are not controlled a tremendous amount of energy is released in the form of an explosion these explosions produce which cells of the body causing sickness and even death this is what happens with nuclear weapons such as atomic and hydrogen bombs if properly controlled nuclear energy has the potential of coming the most efficient type of energy in the world many people believe it will power listen to the Future when the Earth's other fuels becomes scarce but some are concerned about the dangers and would like to see end all production of this kind of energy it's a debate that is sure to continue well into the 21st century ever wonder why stars are so bright or how the sun produces so much heat and light it turns out each star is a giant nuclear furnace that releases energy at its core its nuclear energy that lights up the sky the sun is the star that glows closest to the earth it gets its energy by burning gases at its core in a process called like most stars the sun consists almost entirely of two gases hydrogen and helium during Fusion hydrogen atoms collide with such strong force that they fuse together to me . second 600 million tons of hydrogen convert into 596 million tons of helium the missing four million tons of matter are transformed this process is only possible because of the enormous heat and pressure found at the center of the Sun it's about 25 million degrees Fahrenheit in there energy moves from the center to the surface of the Sun with dramatic results the most spectacular sight in an enormous explosion of energy known as a solar flare players and radioactive particles into space particles that get carried by solarwinds they reach the Earth in a day or two where they're deflected by the Earth's magnetic field but at the North and South Colts these particles can hit the Earth's atmosphere and produces brilliant light shows known as Aurora's well not everyone has a chance to see an aurora all of us certainly experienced the sun's energy each day at 93 million miles away we are far enough removed from the Star to enjoy the benefits of its heat and light during photosynthesis plants collect energy from the sunlight and use it to make food like every Star someday the sun will run out of the gases that you it and gradually fade astronomers believe the sun is more than 4 billion years old and his already burnt up about half of the hydrogen at its core but no need to worry it still has about 5 billion more years to go the nuclear energy that powers every Star seems almost inexhaustible and for that reason scientists would like to find a way to generate it on Earth but that's a tall order it requires them to duplicate Menken the same conditions found at the center of the sun scientists are working on ways to do just that one of the most important applications of nuke energy is in the field of Medicine in nuclear medicine small amounts of radioactive materials are used to help doctors look at the inside of the body and treat disease the procedures are safe and now and they allow doctors to gather information that might otherwise be unavailable nuclear medicine had it start in France in 1902 when scientists Marie and Pierre Curie you made a critical discovery while conducting research on radioactive substances they found that one substance gave off more radioactivity than others play determined that the source of this radioactivity what's two elements radium and polonium Monique Beaudry curator of the Curie Museum in Paris notes the discovery of radium opened up a whole new era and describe their daughter are in Joliet took their findings even further by developing artificial radiation she sounded by bombarding aluminum with naturally radioactive particles the aluminum itself became radioactive when part of Apartments East the creation of radioactivity continued this artificial radioactivity quickly became useful in medicine and it's still used today to diagnose and treat disease doctor Ian Frazier radiation therapy is a localized treatment of cancer involving external beam radiation and insertion of radioactive materials into the tumor radiation therapy was actually in use within year of discovery of radiation since then I should become a highly sophisticated treatment of cancer of all cancers radiation is the second most used after surgery at the time of the curies discoveries the harmful effects of prolonged exposure to radiation were not understood I seen in this Photograph handling radium produce scarring on Marie curie's hands even worse repeated contact brought on the cancer leukemia Roshe and Aaron died of leukemia before the age of 70 make sure he's dedicated their lives to science and their discoveries continue to prolong life today during World War II the nuclear age literally exploded it was a time when an overwhelming fear of Adolf Hitler and his Nazi regime was that his fight a deep mistrust between the United States and Soviet Union also began the result was a race to build a weapon capable of Destruction unlike anything seen before by World War Two physicists knew about the power of nuclear energy intellectual discoveries that had worked for years to unravel the mysteries of atoms eventually they discovered that splitting atoms of the elements uranium and plutonium released an enormous amount of energy could create a massive explosion use this discovery to create a bomb in June of 1945 the United States had built and tested the first atomic bomb less than two months later the u.s. use this weapon against Another World War II enemy Japan in an effort to put a quick end to the War 2 bombs were dropped on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki over 200 thousand people were killed by the explosions and the radiation released the effects of the bombs were so alarming that nuclear weapons have been subjected political debate ever since the atomic bomb sometimes called a fishing bomb because it operates by uncontrolled nuclear fission when the nucleus of a uranium atom splits particles fly out with such force that they split other atom a chain reaction begins it's not control the result is a powerful explosion that happens within a fraction of a second a thousand times more destructive than the atomic bomb was the hydrogen bomb first tested in 1952 the Pacific is the chosen Proving Ground for the United States habitation this is the first full scale test of a hydrogen device if the reaction goes when they say about you to your hair unlike atomic bombs hydrogen bombs use a fusion reaction in order to explode the same react the powers the Sun clear weapons have not been detonated in war since the first bombs were dropped in Japan but many countries now possess them some argue that all nuclear weapons should be disposed others want to establish International treaties to make sure they are never used again bacon operate under water at high speeds for months at a time and they don't make a sound nuclear powered submarines are the most advanced and lethal of all Naval warships inside their steel walls these ships hold powerful weapons such as missiles that can reach targets thousands of miles away but it's 80 commanding officer David Bowie and Eno notes the goal is not to use them America's ballistic missile submarine Force has always been two turns of War it is a very necessary thing for us to maintain a strong turn Force so that any country that possesses nuclear weapons or other weapons of mass destruction will never consider using them against America or her allies these Subs are powered by nuclear reactors that generate energy through fission inside the Reactor Core the fission of uranium fuel produces an enormous amount of heat this thing is carried through the system and used to be the water into steam the steam is then used to power The Submarine by generating electricity it's an efficient system it only takes 4 pounds of uranium to yield the same power as billion gallons of fuel used by the early diesel powered subs and it's solved a big problem for the Navy before nuclear power submarines were vulnerable to attack because they had to resurface and refuel more building a nuclear sub was the dream of Navy Admiral Hyman rickover he was the first to realize that nuclear power could vastly improve these underwater machines qualifying Submariner engineer with a strong faith in both the practicality Houston Texans and the Family Stone made him a dedicated nuclear night figuring out how to control a powerful Atomic reaction on a submarine was quite a task play 1955 rickover's dream was realized with the launch of the USS Nautilus the world's first nuclear powered sub today more than 20 nuclear submarines continue to patrol the world's oceans off and undetected

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Physical Science: Nuclear Energy

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