Headings Electromagnetism Induced Current Search Questions 
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Nuclear Power.
(Links in pink will take you to the GCSE Chemistry site).
Nuclear
power stations use the heat
generated by fission of a fuel
(either uranium or plutonium) to boil
water to make steam.
The steam is used to turn a turbine.
Advantages of Nuclear Power.
1. A large amount of energy is generated from a very small amount of fuel.
2. The fuel is readily
available.
If you need more energy, you just use more
fuel.
3. Nuclear Power does not produce carbon
dioxide or sulphur
dioxide
and so does not contribute to global warming or
acid
rain.
Disadvantages.
1. Poisonous waste is produced, some of which is
highly radioactive.
Disposal of this radioactive waste has
not been safely achieved.
Very long half-lives
(thousands of years)
mean that the waste will be a
danger "forever".
At present the most dangerous waste is
sealed in glass-like
blocks
which are buried deep within
"stable" rocks.
Careless disposal of waste in
the past has led to pollution
of land, rivers and the ocean.
2. The power station is potentially dangerous to large
areas of the planet.
Despite reassurances from the
nuclear industry that nuclear power is
safe,
serious accidents have happened
and large areas have been contaminated with radioactivity.
Many members of the public have become cynical
about promises of the cleanliness and
safety of nuclear power.
3. The power station is very
expensive to build
and to safely dismantle afterwards
(called decommissioning).
When the costs are taken into
account,
the electricity produced by the
power station is relatively expensive.
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