STUDENT 1: HEY, WHAT'S

GOING ON WITH THE POWER?

STUDENT 2: I DON'T KNOW.

JOAN, WHAT'S WITH THE POWER?

JOAN CARTAN-HANSEN, HOST: POWER?

WELL, WE IN THE UNITED STATES

GET ABOUT 20 PERCENT OF ITS

POWER FROM NUCLEAR ENERGY.

STUDENT 2: NO, I MEAN THE

LIGHTS.

CARTAN-HANSEN: WELL, ENERGY DOES

COME IN MANY FORMS INCLUDING

LIGHT.

BUT SINCE YOU ASKED ABOUT

NUCLEAR ENERGY, CAN I TELL YOU

MORE?

STUDENT 1: NO, WE MEANT

ABOUT...OH NEVER MIND.

STUDENT 2: NO, I'D REALLY LIKE

TO LEARN ABOUT NUCLEAR ENERGY.

CARTAN-HANSEN: WELL, IF YOU'RE

GOING TO LEARN ABOUT NUCLEAR

ENERGY, THE FIRST PLACE YOU HAVE

TO START IS WITH THE ATOM.

ATOMS ARE TINY PARTICLES THAT

MAKE UP ALL MATTER.

ATOMS EACH HAVE A NUCLEUS MADE

UP OF A PROTONS AND NEUTRONS AND

THEN ELECTRONS WHICH CIRCLE THE

NUCLEUS.

ATOMS DIFFER IN THE NUMBER OF

PROTONS, NEUTRONS AND ELECTRONS.

EACH INDIVIDUAL COMBINATION IS

KNOWN AS AN ELEMENT.

THERE ARE AT LEAST 92 DIFFERENT

KINDS ELEMENTS IN NATURE.

YOU CAN SEE THEM LISTED ON THE

PERIODIC TABLE OF ELEMENTS.

NOW, NUCLEAR ENERGY IS THAT

ENERGY IN THE CORE OF AN ATOM.

THAT ENERGY THAT HOLDS THE ATOM

TOGETHER IS THE STRONGEST FORCE

IN NATURE.

AND WHEN WE BREAK THAT BOND, THE

ENERGY THAT GETS RELEASED CAN BE

USED TO PRODUCE ELECTRICITY.

STUDENT 2: BUT HOW?

CARTAN-HANSEN: WELL, IT'S A

PROCESS CALLED NUCLEAR FISSION

AND IT STARTS WITH URANIUM.

URANIUM IS A METAL FOUND IN

ROCKS.

WE MINE IT AND THEN PROCESS IT.

URANIUM OCCURS IN SLIGHTLY

DIFFERENT FORMS KNOWN AS

ISOTOPES.

EACH ISOTOPE CONTAINS A SLIGHTLY

DIFFERENT NUMBER OF NEUTRONS IN

ITS NUCLEUS.

URANIUM'S ISOTOPES ARE

URANIUM-238 AND URANIUM-235.

MOST NUCLEAR PLANTS USE URANIUM

235 AS ITS FUEL BECAUSE, UNDER

THE RIGHT CONDITIONS, IT CAN BE

SPLIT.

AND WHEN AN ATOM IS SPLIT, IT

RELEASES ENERGY.

NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS USE THE

HEAT GENERATED FROM SPLITTING

ATOMS TO HEAT WATER, WHICH IS

THEN TURNED INTO STEAM.

THAT STEAM TURNS A TURBINE

CONNECTED TO A GENERATOR WHICH

PRODUCES ELECTRICITY.

A NUCLEAR POWER PLANT PRODUCES

ELECTRICITY IN PRETTY MUCH THE

SAME WAY AS A COAL PLANT

DOES...BUT INSTEAD BURNING A

FOSSIL FUEL, THE NUCLEAR POWER

PLANT GETS ITS HEAT FROM

SPLITTING ATOMS.

STUDENT 1: BUT HOW DOES THAT

WORK?

CARTAN-HANSEN: THE CORE OF A

NUCLEAR REACTOR HAS A NUMBER OF

RODS FILLED WITH URANIUM.

THEN OPERATORS SHOOT NEUTRONS

INTO THE URANIUM AND IT STARTS A

CHAIN REACTION.

STUDENT 2: WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY A

CHAIN REACTION?

CARTAN-HANSEN: WELL, KIND OF

LIKE THIS OVER HERE.

SO IMAGINE THAT THESE DOMINOS

ARE THE CORE OF A NUCLEAR

REACTOR.

SO YOU SEND IN A NEUTRON TO

SPLIT THE FIRST ATOM, IT THEN

SENDS OUT MORE NEUTRONS TO SPLIT

THE NEXT ATOMS AND THEN SENDS

OUT MORE NEUTRONS AND SPLITS

MORE ATOMS.

AND EACH TIME YOU SPLIT AN ATOM

IT RELEASES ENERGY IN THE FORM

OF HEAT.

STUDENT 1: YOU MEAN IT COULD

JUST KEEP GOING ON AND ON.

DOES IT EVER STOP?

CARTAN-HANSEN: WELL NUCLEAR

REACTORS HAVE THINGS CALLED

CONTROL RODS THAT HELP SLOW DOWN

OR STOP THE CHAIN REACTION.

HERE LET ME SHOW YOU.

YOU GUYS PUT IN THE RULERS AND

I'LL START THE DOMINOS.

WHAT HAPPENED?

STUDENT 2: IT STOPPED.

CARTAN-HANSEN: RIGHT, SO AN

OPERATOR CAN PUT IN CONTROL RODS

INTO THE REACTOR AND CONTROL THE

PROCESS OF NUCLEAR FISSION AND

IN THAT WAY IT CONTROLS HOW MUCH

HEAT THE REACTOR PUTS OUT.

BUT NUCLEAR POWER, LIKE ALL

SOURCES OF ENERGY WE PRODUCE,

HAS ITS PROS AND CONS.

NUCLEAR PLANTS ARE EXPENSIVE TO

BUILD BECAUSE THEY PUT IN SO

MANY SAFETY FEATURES, BUT THE

FUEL IS LESS EXPENSIVE.

NUCLEAR POWER IS LESS

DESTRUCTIVE TO THE ENVIRONMENT

BECAUSE YOU DON'T NEED A LOT OF

URANIUM TO GET ELECTRICITY.

FOR EXAMPLE, IT WOULD TAKE 2,000

POUNDS OF COAL, 149 GALLONS OF

OIL, 17,000 CUBIC FEET OF

NATURAL GAS, OR 5,000 POUNDS OF

WOOD TO PRODUCE THE SAME AMOUNT

OF ENERGY AS A ONE-INCH PELLET

OF URANIUM FUEL!

NUCLEAR POWER ALSO DOESN'T

RELEASE AS MUCH CARBON DIOXIDE

SO UNLIKE COAL OR GAS POWER

PLANTS, IT DOESN'T REALLY ADD TO

THE PROBLEM OF GLOBAL WARMING.

AND UNLIKE SOLAR OR WIND POWER,

NUCLEAR ENERGY CAN BE PRODUCED

ELECTRICITY ANYTIME, MAKING IT A

RELIABLE SOURCE OF ELECTRICITY.

BUT NUCLEAR POWER DOES HAVE SOME

SERIOUS DRAWBACKS.

LIKE ANY TECHNOLOGY, IT CAN BE

APPLIED FOR BENEFICIAL OR

DESTRUCTIVE PURPOSES.

FOR EXAMPLE, DURING WORLD WAR 2,

WE DEVELOPED BOMBS THAT USED

ATOMIC ENERGY.

COUNTRIES AROUND THE WORLD NOW

HAVE NUCLEAR BOMBS AND OFFICIALS

ARE WORKING TO PREVENT THEIR

USE.

ANOTHER PROBLEM: A FEW NUCLEAR

POWER PLANTS HAVE HAD ACCIDENTS

AND EXPOSED PEOPLE IN THE AREA

TO NUCLEAR RADIATION.

AND CREATING NUCLEAR POWER

LEAVES BEHIND HIGH AND LOW LEVEL

RADIOACTIVE WASTE.

EXPOSURE TO A HIGH ENOUGH LEVEL

OF NUCLEAR RADIATION OR

RADIOACTIVE MATERIAL CAN BE

DEADLY.

HIGH LEVEL NUCLEAR WASTE LIKE

THE FUEL INSIDE A NUCLEAR

REACTOR CAN REMAIN DANGEROUS FOR

THOUSANDS OF YEARS.

LOW LEVEL NUCLEAR WASTE IS LESS

DANGEROUS BUT STILL NEEDS TO BE

DISPOSED OF SAFELY.

AS A SOCIETY, WE ARE STILL

TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO

SOLVE THE PROBLEM OF THE PROPER

DISPOSAL OF NUCLEAR WASTE.

AND THERE IS ALSO THE RISK OF AN

ACCIDENT AT A NUCLEAR POWER

PLANT WHICH COULD CAUSE SERIOUS

PROBLEMS FOR A VERY LONG TIME.

WE HAVE TO CONSIDER A LOT OF

CHOICES WHEN WE MAKE ELECTRICITY

AND NUCLEAR ENERGY IS ONE

OPTION.

AND BY THE WAY, POWER PLANTS

AREN'T THE ONLY WAY WE USE

NUCLEAR ENERGY TO MAKE HEAT.

THE STARS LIKE OUR SUN USE A

FORM OF NUCLEAR ENERGY TO SHINE,

BUT THAT'S A DIFFERENT VIDEO.

STUDENT 1: CAN WE SET UP THAT

CHAIN REACTION AGAIN?

CARTAN-HANSE: SURE.

AND FOR THE REST OF YOU.

IF YOU WANT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT

NUCLEAR ENERGY, CHECK OUT THAT

AREA ON THE SCIENCE TREK

WEBSITE.

YOU'LL FIND IT AT

IDAHOPTV.ORG/SCIENCE TREK

(MUSIC)

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