1. Nuclear Power Plants May 11, 2010

2. Objectives Define core, heat exchanger, turbines, and cooling system Describe the process of making electricity Determine limiting factors of nuclear energy

3. Nuclear Core Where the nuclear reactions (fission) take place, produces huge amounts of heat (energy), changes water to steam

4. Heat Exchanger The steam from the core heats the water in the heat exchanger into steam (like a boiler)

5. Turbines Steam from the heat exchanger is blown through the turbine making it spin creating electricity

6. Cooling System Steam is released into something that can cool it down, usually water or the air

7. Diagram of a Nuclear Power Plant

9. Limiting Factor of Nuclear Power Uranium and plutonium do not decay into stable atoms for a long period of time Decay: particles that continue to give off different forms of energy Can happen over a long or short period of time

10. Nuclear Waste Half-life: time that it takes for nuclear waste to become stable Uranium: 713,000,000 years Plutonium: 24,000 years This is why the government wants to store nuclear waste underground at a place like Yucca Mountain

11. How much radiation are you exposed to? Add the numbers that apply to you… Radiation from space 26 Elevation (636 ft.) 2 Radiation from the ground 46 If you live in a house made of stone, brick, or concrete add 7 Radiation from your body 240 Weapons testing 1 For every 1,000 miles traveled by air, add 1

12. How much radiation are you exposed to? If you have porcelain crowns for false teeth, add 0.07 If you use gas lanterns when camping, add 0.003 If you wear an LCD watch, add 0.006 If you use luggage inspection at airports, add 0.002 If you watch TV, add 1 If you use a video display terminal, add 1 If you have a smoke detector, add 0.008 If you have a pacemaker, add 100 If you have had x-rays, add 40 Add together all the numbers that apply to you