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Lesson 7 - Waste from Nuclear Power Plants
This lesson takes a look at the waste from electricity production at nuclear power plants. It considers the different types of waste generated, as well as how we deal with each type of waste.
Lesson 6 - Atoms to Electricity
Most power plants make electricity by boiling water to make steam that turns a turbine. A nuclear power plant works this way, too. At a nuclear power plant, splitting atoms produce the heat to boil the water. This lesson covers inside the reactor, fiss...
Lesson 5 - Fission and Chain Reactions
Lesson Four showed how the nuclei of atoms store energy and how unstable atoms decay and release energy. How do nuclear engineers use this knowledge to help them harness energy to make electricity? The answer lies in being able to start a nuclear chai...
Lesson 4 - Ionizing Radiation
Lesson Three showed that unstable isotopes emit energy as they become more stable. This energy is known as radiation. This lesson explores forms of radiation, where radiation is found, how we detect and measure radiation, what sources of radiation peop...
Lesson 3 - Atoms and Isotopes
You’ve probably heard people refer to nuclear energy as “atomic energy.” Why? Nuclear energy is the energy that is stored in the bonds of atoms, inside the nucleus. Nuclear power plants are designed to capture this energy as heat and convert it...
Lesson 2 - Electricity Basics
It’s difficult to imagine life without convenient electricity. You just flip a switch or plug in an appliance, and it’s there. But how did it get there? Many steps go into providing the reliable electricity we take for granted. This lesson takes a...
Lesson 1 - Energy Basics
This lesson covers the states and forms of energy, where energy comes from, as well as how the way we live is tied to our energy supply and what that means for the future.
Used Fuel Degradation: Experimental and Modeling Report
The report describes the strategy for coupling process level models to produce an integrated Used Fuel Degradation Model (FDM), and addresses fractional degradation rate, instant release fractions, other continuum modeling approaches, and experimental ...