This document discusses various topics related to nuclear energy and weapons. It covers nuclear fission and fusion processes, the types of nuclear fuel used including uranium and plutonium, how atom bombs and nuclear power stations work, nuclear waste production and storage, and the benefits of nuclear fission. It also describes how fusion bombs obtain energy from the hydrogen fusion reaction in stages using a fission primary explosive to ignite the fusion of isotopes like tritium.

1. Nuclear World

2. Topics to be covered:-
1. Nuclear fission
2. Nuclear fusion
3. Nuclear Fuel
4. Atom bombs
5. Nuclear Power stations
6. Nuclear waste
7. Controlling rate of reaction
8. Benefits of fission
9. The fusion Bomb

3. Nuclear fission
In one of the most remarkable process in nature, a
slow neutron can be captured by a uranium-235
nucleus, rendering it unstable toward nuclear fission.
A fast neutron will not be captured, so neutrons must
be slowed down by moderation to increase their
capture probability in fission reaction.A single fission
event can yeild over 200 million times the energy of
the neutron which triggered it!!!!!!

4. Fission reaction

5. Nuclear fusion
Nuclear fusion is the energy source of the future. It is
what provides the sun and the stars with the energy
to shine continously for billions of years. Fusion has
been used here on earth to produce nuclear
bombs,but has not yet been controlled yet so that we
can obtain useful energy.We will try to show how
fusion works, and describe current efforts to tame
this limitless energy source.

7. The first generation fusion reactors will use
deuterium and tritium for fuel because they will fuse
at a lower temperature. Deuterium can be easily
extracted from seawater, where 1 in 6500 hydrogen
atoms is deuterium. Tritium can be bred from
lithium, which is abundant in the earth's crust. In the
fusion reaction a deuterium and tritium atom
combine together, or fuse, to form an atom of helium
and an energetic neutron.
It only takes a small amount of these isotopes to
produce a lot of energy! The deuterium-tritium fusion
reaction results in an energy gain of about 450:1!! No
other energy source we can tap releases so much
energy for the amount that is input.

9. Nuclear fuel
Some of the most commonly used elements are:-
1. uranium-235
2. Plutonium-238
3. Lithium (tritium source)
4. And some other elements

10. When uranium-238 absorbs a neutron it turns into
uranium-239 and this decays by giving out beta radiations
to form neptunium-239, which in turn decays again by
beta radiations to form plutonium-239. Plutonium also
undergoes fission and can be used as a fuel and also in the
manufacturing if nuclear weapons. In this way, as the
uranium-235 is used up, it actually makes plutonium-239.
This can be extracted and used for subsequent energy
production or bombs.
The fissioning of uranium-235 in the reactor of a nuclear
power plant produces two to three neutrons, and these
neutrons can be absorbed by uranium-238 to produce
plutonium-239 and other isotopes. Plutonium-239 can also
absorb neutrons and fission along with the uranium-235.
Plutonium fissions provide about one-third of the total
energy produced in a typical commercial nuclear power
plant. The use of plutonium in power plants occurs
without it ever being removed from the nuclear reactor
fuel, i.e., it is fissioned in the same fuel rods in which it is
produced.

11. Atom Bombs
An atomic bomb is an explosive device in which a
large amount of energy is released through nuclear
reactions. This makes an atomic bomb, more
properly called a nuclear weapon, a much more
powerful device than any conventional bomb
containing chemical explosives.
There are two types of nuclear weapons
1. Fission weapons
2. Fusion weapons

12. Nuclear Power Stations
There are many different designs of nuclear reactor but
they all have a nuclear reaction at the core.The energy is
released when the nuclei splits is given to the fission
fragments.
There are 400 nuclear power plants worldwide in
2009, and those plants supply 16 percent of the world's
electricity. France is far and away the leader in this
regard, as nuclear plants produce 80 percent of that
country's power. In the United States, 104 nuclear power
plants produce 20 percent of all electricity. Thirteen of
those plants are in Illinois, the most of any state.

13. Its Envinronmental
Impact
Nuclear energy accounts for 73% of total electric power
generation in United States. Even its envinronmental
impact is not so long lasting as most of its waste
byproducts are buried underground.
How is power created
The fission of an atom of one atom of uranium can create
as much energy as 10 million times one atom of coal can
produce. One ton of uranium can produce more energy
than several million tons of coal or several million barrels
of oil.

14. Nuclear Waste
Nuclear waste are those that contain radioactive materials.
These byproducts which are released are hazardous to human
health and enviornment.
Radioactivity diminishes over time. So some of the waste can be
stored until no longer it poses a problem.Low level waste with
low level of radioactivity can be stored only for days or weeks
but on the other hand high level waste with high level of
radioactivity have to be store for month or thousands of years.
There are numerous sites that contain or are contaminated with
radioactivity. Despite copious quantities of waste, the
Department of energy has stated a goal of cleaning all presently
contaminated sites successfully by 2025.

16. Benefits of fission
The biggest advantage is that it is an established way to generate electricity without
emitting carbon dioxide. This is more and more important as global warming becomes a
real threat to the environment.
It also does not emit other pollutants into the air, such as smog or particulates.
nuclear power production does not contribute any harmful gases to the atmosphere. no
carbon, no acid, no sulfur. It is safe, contained, and can produce as much as 5 lbs. of coal
with a fuel pellet weighing 6 grams!
The advantages are that nuclear power plants make 33% of the United States electricity.
They also make 15% of the world's electricity. The good thing is that to make all this
electricity they don't burn anything like coal or wood. This means they don't pollute the air
so it keeps the environment clean near the plants. In fact they have discovered that many
endangered species of animals live very near to the power plants. Nuclear energy is the
most concentrated energy on the earth so we can control it very well. This is good because
rarely an explosion will occur. A nuclear power doesn't take up a lot of room so people can
make a lot of these machines all over the earth to make electricity.

17. Fusion Bomb
A fusion bomb is a nuclear explosive that is powered by a hydrogen fusion
reaction. The force is much greater than that of a conventional nuclear
fission bomb. The main material used for fusion bombs is the tritium
isotope of hydrogen. This is because hydrogen is the atomic element with
the lightest weight. This makes it an ideal fusible material for a bomb.
It is actual a fission assisted fusion bomb. That is because most hydrogen
bombs are of the Teller Ulam design. This is a design where a bomb is
detonated in stages. The first stage or primary explosive is a conventional
nuclear fission bomb. This is triggered and the fission of the uranium
releases neutrons and heat.
The first fusion bomb ever detonated was “Ivy Mike” in 1952 at the
Enewetak Atoll in the Pacific Ocean. The bomb though it only a first
attempt produced a yield 450 times more powerful than the nuclear bomb
that was dropped on Nagasaki. The largest hydrogen fusion bomb ever
detonated was Tsar Bomba a Russian bomb that was detonated in 1964.

19. THANK YOU
-Shanil savla
IBDP-1