Why does it take only a very small amount of fuel to generate a large amount of electricity in a nuclear power plant as compared with a power plant that burns coal or oil?
2006-09-30 16:57:56 · 7 answers · asked by sunrisesover12th 2 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Earth Sciences & Geology
It's because of the different reaction types involved. A fossil fuel plant gets its energy from a chemical reaction, namely the burning of coal or oil. A nuclear power plant, on the other hand, uses (you guessed it) a nuclear reaction, which produces much more energy. Einstein's famous E=MC^2 equation explained the relationship between the mass of fuel and the energy produced in a nuclear reaction, with E standing for energy, M for mass, and C the speed of light squared.
2006-09-30 17:09:53 · answer #1 · answered by Steve H 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The energy released from radioactive materials is much greater than the energy released from burning coal or oil.
2006-09-30 17:00:09 · answer #2 · answered by a_blue_grey_mist 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The process of the radioactive decay of uranium is more efficient at releasing energy than the rapid oxidation of the carbon atoms in coal or oil.
;-)
2006-09-30 17:05:44 · answer #3 · answered by WikiJo 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Nuclear reactions release thousands of times the energy per unit mass than is released by chemical reactions.
2006-09-30 17:12:18 · answer #4 · answered by Helmut 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
different fuels contain different amounts of energy, they could be measured in different ways, one measurement of the heat (energy) that can be released from a material is the BTU or British thermal Unit. If you were to determine the amount of BTUs per unit of volume you would find that there is a greater capacity from one fuel to the other.
2006-09-30 17:08:51 · answer #5 · answered by Amy 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
fuel in nuclear plant is called uranium, one of the biggest atoms
they bombard it with neutrons, in simple words why does a nuclear bomb kill so many people, because it releases a lot of energy
2006-09-30 17:00:32 · answer #6 · answered by cars_o_holic 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The bonds that hold the nucleus of an atom together are very strong. When they are torn apart they generate lots of free energy and heat.
2006-09-30 17:07:48 · answer #7 · answered by the_knower_of_all_knowledge 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋