How Things Work : How Nuclear Energy Works

[thenuclearfriends]

Commercial and utility plants currently use nuclear fission reactions to heat water to produce steam, which is then used to generate electricity. A nuclear reaction is the process in which two nuclei, or else a nucleus of an atom and a subatomic particle from outside the atom, collide to produce products different from the initial particles. The nucleus is the very dense region consisting of nucleons (protons and neutrons) at the center of an atom.

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[vibhadiva]

<3

[belial024]

Uranium a fossil fuel??? He's making stuff up! A science teacher making a video with such a ludicrous explanation only proves the saying, those who can't... teach!

[supahsekzy]

@belial024 Lol by fossil fuel he meant unsustainable or exhaustible fuel source

[belial024]

@supahsekzy I get it, but that's not the definition by any means. The singularity of nuclear energy is precisely not using either a fossil fuel, neither a renewable energy source. When making an educational video, the basic notions need to be clear to those who are not familiar with the subject.

[ubuntuibex]

Moderators also aren't necessarily needed to run a nuclear reactor. But you can achieve higher energies with a moderator.

[plking1]

LOOK-UP ON TWITTER = TheRealSunGod

[RamsesReturns]

How is it then that nuclear sub power is so safe and efficient? And are not these devices susceptible to sinking and being blown up? Does anyone know what would happen to a subs reactor if it were hit by an explosive of sank?

[supahsekzy]

@RamsesReturns Nuclear power in general is safer than say coal power if you look at how many people die in nuclear energy related deaths vs. coal

[RamsesReturns]

@supahsekzy A coal mishaps happens and 12 miners die, but when a reactor decides to over react... well then...

[magicstix0r]

@RamsesReturns Then nobody dies? Just like Fukushima where there's yet to be a single radiation related fatality? Just like Three Mile Island where nobody was exposed to radiation worse than a dental X-ray?

[RamsesReturns]

@magicstix0r Hmmm... perhaps. But I don't think you can say the same for Chernobyl. :O.

[puncheex]

@magicstix0r: well, of course, that line of evidence stops with Chernobyl. But everything is a risk; using energy sources is always a risk. In the 19th century, oil fired boilers blew up, killing people. Today you never hear of it, because lessons were learned, and it has grown to be considered something of a risk of doing business.

[puncheex]

@RamsesReturns: Because it is way over-engineered and and derated. That makes reactors expensive, but safe. Several reactor driven subs have sunk. Their reactors lay on the ocean floor with the subs. How would they do in warfare? Hard to say, as they've never been given the test. For most conventional attacks, they'll go to the bottom. Who knows what would happen if one were attacked by am atomic torpedo?

[Multimine]

Uranium is not a fossil fuel, it is non renewable but it does not derive from remains of past life.

[DoubleM55]

Hmmm, uranium and plutonium are fossil fuels!?? LOL, I didn't know that :)

[DoThatReject]

@DoubleM55 I guess because they're extracted from the soil... ;)

[sarkhaniscool]

Thanks you for making this video look so educational so my mother actually though I was doing homework.

[sajhind]

Thank You Sir for simple and lucid explaination.

[1972barnone]

this is a great comprehensive vid 4 explaining how nuclear energy is generated. thx

[slowflamingo]

zzzzzzzz

[joemarti22]

me Xd

[SuperHantamsajalah]

ohhh...now i know about nuclear....now i thinking how to make my own small reactor for my home power supply and build my new company for electric power supply...

[Vis1onHD]

@SuperHantamsajalah uranium is very dangourous so you shouldnt do it!

[puncheex]

@Vis1onHD: In what way? Uranium is a fairly common element. It is found in almost all igneous rocks and in coal. It is poisonous in relatively large amounts (like arsenic), It is very faintly radioactive, but most of that radioactivity is alpha rays, which are stopped by 4cm or 2 inches of air. If you manage to ingest and keep inside you a quarter of a gram, you might be in trouble. But none of this microgram per body, or "a pound can kill everyone on Earth" - that's fantasy.

[Jdonovanford]

I have a question of a curious nature. Say you have an electrical generator that keeps running and running, producing an electrical current continuously. Where do the Electrons come from? Where do the electrons keep coming from that are produced by the Generator? Do they come from the windings of the generator, and if so, wouldn't the generator soon run out of electrons? If not, then where are they coming from? Any information would be appreciated, I am quite curious about this.

[viewervideo011242234]

@Jdonovanford I want to know that answer to that too - anyone??

[puncheex]

@viewervideo011242234: See above.

[BlueberryCrackMuffin]

@Jdonovanford First of all the generator doesn't create electrons. You can't create them. A generator moves the electrons.And second, LOOK IT UP! duh.

[Jdonovanford]

@BlueberryCrackMuffin to say that, say nothing! :P

[Jdonovanford]

Respond to this video... Can anyone really explain me how on an atomic level works? I don't get it! I mean, the electons jump from one atom of the beginning of the wire to the next, positivizing the wire at that end, so then they cant lose any more electrons again! And this is not a circuit, in a circuit I could understand it.

[puncheex]

@Jdonovanford: Without a circuit, electrons don't move, with exceptions when voltages change rapidly enough to actually accumulate charges temporarily.

[Jdonovanford]

@puncheex But in the case of a wind turbine, there is no circuitery. It is one end to the other. So how does this work with a wind turbine?

[JesusAlbertoPinto]

@Jdonovanford

Actually the generator creates a Electric Potential Difference (Voltage) between two zones of the conductive material (In old days they used to call this a Electromotive Force but it's not a force). This means that there's no equilibrium in the electric configuration of the atoms and therefore produces the electron flux. Electrons can move only en metalic atoms because they spin freely around the nuclei of severeal atoms.

[JesusAlbertoPinto]

@Jdonovanford

Imagine voltage as a tall building and between its roof and the ground we have a pipe with water. The mass of water is equivalent to te electrons and the "generator" would be equivalent to a water pump.

If we make a closed circuit: water falls from the roof through the pipe - then enters the pump, this send the water again to the roof and the process repeats over again. You should notice that you did not create water but just moved it and the same happens with electrons.

[JesusAlbertoPinto]

@Jdonovanford So, the electrons were in the conductive material since the beginning. Notice that the key is the concept of circuit, if the circuit is not closed then is not posible to generate the electrical current (electron flux). So, electric energy is sort of kinetic energy in terms of atomic movement.

The big question is WHO moves the generator? Several methods including thermic turbines (Brayton Cycle, Rankine Cycle with variants) or hydraulic turbines in dams, eolic turbines and so on

[Jdonovanford]

@JesusAlbertoPinto Yeah, but if there is no circuit, like in a windmill?

[JesusAlbertoPinto]

@Jdonovanford

Actually there is a electric circuit inside a windmill in the same way that I've explain you before.

What is transfered from the wind to the generator is energy, not electrons.

First law of thermodynamics tells that Energy either can't be destroyed or created but tranformed. The wind mass strikes the windmill (kinetic energy), the windmill rotates ("rotational" kinetic energy), the windmill shaft is connected to the generator and the generates the voltage (electric energy).

[puncheex]

@Jdonovanford: The electrons travel in a circuit. Notice that you always have two, sometimes three, but never one wire to an appliance. That is so the electrons can enter on the hot wire and return through the neutral, returning to the source.

In AC, they don't even do that. They just jiggle back and forth 60 times per second. It's not important the electrons move one way; just the fact that they move at all transfers power.

[Jdonovanford]

@puncheex Ok, so I think I am getting it. I thought electrons were jumping from one atom to the next, making this one be unbalanced, so one electron must be expulsed from the second atom, and so on. Now you are saying that they don't jump from atom to atom... but they... what do they do instead?

[puncheex]

@Jdonovanford: Most conductive metals have 2 electrons in the outermost shell; they.re fairly free to move a round. And, yes, electrons jump from atom to atom, again, loosely held. But they have to have a circuit, even if they're doing the AC jiggle.

[TheNewAlias]

LOVE JAPAN FOREVER

[MrNightLifeLover]

A blackboard is not fund w/o formulas :(

[sirral11]

that digram is wrong, the control rods are in the top not the bottom, this is because if the power fails the rods will stop the fission happening, if they were at the bottom the rods would drop straight out, and there would be a melt down, i think

[dsanzo]

@sirral11

if you "think", they don't go saying it "is" wrong.

[puncheex]

@dsanzo: Well, OK, it's an unusual design, but he's not talking about real designs anyway. His drawing is just a schematic to just begin understanding the essentials. Look up nuclear reactor in wiki; there's no diagrams there, but follow the links to specific kinds of reactors and you'll find what you seek.

[riethc]

I'm curious about the term renewable. Is any energy renewable? Solar energy does not create solar panels in of themselves. It takes materials to build the components of a panel and they do not renew themselves. The sunlight captured also does not renewed either. It is taken, and this same sunlight could be used for plant life instead.

[puncheex]

@riethc: You mean investment-free energy? The only example I can think of is lying down in the ground and soaking up a few rays No one thought to put electrical plugs in tree trunks. Even if your investment is as small as the cost of and axe, you have to do something.

[wipneus12345]

Great video, thanks :)

[Galanty]

I hate people like this. It turns out Nuclear is the most expensive form of energy production due to the safeguards needed. And there still isn't even enough safeguards because the nuclear industry wants to keep the costs down. Such a scam .... PS I love the line it can be placed away from people for safety. Tell that to people in Poland, France, etc. who where miles from Russia and received contamination from Chernobyl. Now we have to wait for any fall out in Japan to reach the USA.

[beercourt]

@Galanty you know nothing

[Galanty]

@beercourt

I guess that means you know even less than nothing. That is why they shut down Rancho Seco nuclear plant in Sacramento and Trojan nuclear plant in Oregon. It COST TO MUCH FOR THE RATE PAYERS. The rates went down after the closed the plants. I personally experienced the escalating rates from these plants. Nuclear Power is too expensive for the power it provides.

[puncheex]

@Galanty: You're just waiting for it? I suppose that states your needs. Power producers in the US also like to place their coal plants out in the deserts. Not only does that make them accident safe, it also hides the coal smoke pollution from the populace. So tell us, at the risk of your hate, do you then prefer coal to nuclear?

[DarrylDonnithorne]

Who's here because of Japan?

[pwND001]

@DarrylDonnithorne I am.

[ENCO12357]

@DarrylDonnithorne I'm here because California C.A.R.B. is taxing me so much to run my diesel generator that I thought I should learn more about nuclear reactors. I'm thinking of building my own. LOL

[CrudeDude]

Someone should post a video on on how nuclear power DOESN'T work........Maybe the Japanese could put one together, whataya think?

[beercourt]

@CrudeDude the oil refinery fire is causing more environmental damage, and endangering health, by orders of magnitude over the melting nuclear reactors. You people should really stop believing the science you learned from 1950's B movies.

[CrudeDude]

@beercourt Yeah, that refinery fire turned out to be a real problem, didn't it! Much more disaterous than those pesky reactors with their inconsequential meltdowns, spent fuel pool fires, hydrogen explosions and radiation releases to the air and the Pacific ocean.

[ashkon52]

Shit its one big steam engine really

[submissions72]

Thank you very much sir.

[slicktyler]

@SloveintzWend depends in the US they keep in large pools of water at the nuclear power plants. They are trying to build a large storage facility in the Nevada desert. However people who have no idea what they are talking about are preventing it from being built.

In France they recycle most of the spent nuclear fuel.

[jstreutker]

Since when has an element been called a fossil fuel? FAIL!

[Supra7887]

@stevjen1 you basically just said what he said in a more complicated form.

[bicnarok]

@ 0:33 eh Plutonium-244 does occur naturly!!!

[puncheex]

@bicnarok: Only in extremely small trace amounts, undetectable until they actually started looking for it.

[christjmnm]

tonnes?

[bicnarok]

@christjmnm Uk version of tons:) The antiquated British wine cask volume measurement "tun "is close to a metric tonne in weight as it defines about 954 litres.

[christjmnm]

@bicnarok oh I didn´t know that xD thanks :)!

[Fouge642]

Yeah damn. I can't wait till the world picks up on nuclear fusion for power, instead of nuclear fission.

[TechPriest89]

@Fouge642 yeah, me too

[stevjen1]

Wrong. When a large fissile atomic nucleus such as uranium-235 it undergoes nuclear fission. The heavy nucleus splits into two or more lighter nuclei, releasing kinetic energy, gamma radiation and free neutrons; collectively known as fission products. A portion of these neutrons may later be absorbed by other fissile atoms and trigger further fission events, which release more neutrons, and so on. This is known as a nuclear chain reaction. The heat is then used. Nice drawings though. lol

[edsucksfredrocks]

Ads are like drugs. So say no to them. THIS MEANS YOU, YOUTUBE!!!!!!!!!!

[Hellerium]

Better yet, there are next-gen designs that use nuclear waste as fuel. There'd be no need to mine for uranium for at least decades if this design is implemented. Yucca Mountain would be negated. Google "integral fast reactor" or better yet, read "Prescription for the Planet" by Tom Blees. 

[ReliableInsider]

Unfortunately, nuclear energy is STILL not a workable system since no one has been able to figure out a safe way to transport or contain nuclear waste, which must, effectively, be stored forever.

The primary impact nuclear power plants have on the world is that they make it easier for terrorists to kill us all because they provide all kinds of materials useful for terrorists such as plutonium.

Psychotic dictators who want to hold the free world hostage also find plutonium extremely useful.

[bradpittftw1111]

@ReliableInsider

"safe way to transport or contain nuclear waste, which must, effectively, be stored forever."

Actually, if there was to be a situation where radioactive material fell off a cargo trian, it would simply have to be picked up and put back on, and as long as it doesn't take weeks for someone to pick up solids (which is insane) it's going to do nothing. That is assuming it would even escape its container since containers are used that can resist high impact worst-case scenarios...

[bradpittftw1111]

@ReliableInsider ...with fire at very high temperatures for prolonged amounts of time with no material escaping.

Additionally, terrorists would not be able to simply crash a plane into a nuclear power plant, the protective shells would destroy the plane. Simply because it says Nuclear, doesn't mean it will explode like the Fatman or the Little Boy. Also, the excuse of danger of terrorist attack is weak, if it were a valid argument, then everything should be shut down since everything is subject

[bradpittftw1111]

@ReliableInsider

Although nuclear waste is not stored forever, but for hundreds of years, however it is a much more preferable alternative to current means of energy productions, which are far more hazardous to the environment. The nuclear waste is stored in uninhabitable areas with very little water, far below the surface of the Earth.

There are videos documenting the claims I made, you can probably find them on Youtube.

Workable = yes

Safe to transport = yes

greener = yes

economical = yes

[ElectricSmell]

Who is this guy and why does he fucking know EVERYTHING?

[euclon]

Uranium is not a fossil fuel; it is not the remnant of living organisms. It is a stellar fuel, made by ancient stars. AND, it's not "that simple". You forgot to mention burnable poisons, soluable poisons, and the headache of neutron flux distribution. As the "rest of it" when talking about the steam plant, it's not just like any other steam plant. Unlike nukes, a fossil fired plant, produces highly superheated steam; near the critical point of water.

euclon 6 minutes ago

[blupepc]

@euclon He is only stating the general idea of a plant. I like that more people can learn the basics so they are more comfortable with it and this suits that purpose. Besides, if you want to get into specifics I probably wouldn't be doing it on youtube. That and it's a 4 minute video, to describe those ideas with clarity would take hours upon hours of lectures.

[captinseperoth]

@blupepc is atomic energy a good industry that's worth bothering trying to get a degree for,or are there hardly any jobs in the short and or long run?

[peterm3964]

Global Warming is the MYTH created by the NUCLEAR ENERGY INDUSTRY . to win back public confidence in nuclear power. People are stupid . They THINK that all nuclear energy is dangerous and thats as far as they think ... Stop ... decision made ... But nuclear is not as dangerous as it once was . The old anti nuke bias remains ... So the MYTH of GLOBAL WARMING was created to turn public opinion AGAINST fossill fuels ..

Nuke power is a Transition technology to solar power

[iporkedyourdog]

@peterm3964 sounds like you have no idea what you just said because you make no sense.. So there is no global warming thats just all made up? nuclear energy isnt dangerous because it doesnt produce thousands of gallons radioactive waste thats going to have to be looked after for thousands of years?

[peterm3964]

@iporkedyourdog With a username like yours . I can not se any point in replying to your tedious response .

[athanasia1221]

@iporkedyourdog I kind of get his point because before a powerful government official wanted to implement nuclear energy as the main source of energy and hence came "global warming". Carbon is not dangerous to the environment because it actually makes everything cooler.... according to a film that I have watch... personally, it actually made sense but I am not saying I believe it wholly for now

[captinseperoth]

@peterm3964

gah

your such an idiot,even though i dont know the very specifics,i know for 100 percent sure,that there a fission energy,and fussion.

we are using fission,there is a race for fusion,and i mean power the sun fusion,not cold fusion which is all bs.

the sun in one second produces so much energy with fusion,that in one second,the suns energy can power the usa's total energy use for millions of years.

so please,stop with the solar nonsense and use all the funding for fusion!

[laloomg]

you just save my englisg grade! THANK YOU!

[0kayDokey]

this guy is a little off, but close enough to the idea...okay job

[xXTheCanadianWayXx]

someone should auto tune remix this...

[iambrianjp]

I can't wait for the world to depend on renewable energy...

[MokomaSusi]

@iambrianjp

That won't be happening anytime soon.

[usbfuse]

i had a girl in my class who thoughts nuclear bombs create energy to power things LOL

[dragster178]

@usbfuse Oh...women. How amusing they are indeed.

[Atrofia2]

@usbfuse you will be suprise how many ignorant and stupid a human being can be

[MrRedspark51]

@usbfuse It does, doesn't it?

[Fordi]

Pretty good video, but it seems to handle the specific case of thermal reactors without explaining why it matters. You kind of glazes over the purpose of moderation, and the consequences of different methods thereof (which are a safety consideration, as the method of moderation affects the coefficient of reactivity).

[kuboss007]

Thank you Mr. Jones, it is really nice presentation and I enjoyed that. I really like technical themes. Iam really supprised by comparation of necessery fuel needed for nuclear and coal powerplants.

[XionXXXX]

They need to build more nuclear plants and stop drilling offshore!

Nuclear is the answer to cheap and sustainable energy.

The only big problem is, if the U.S. is allowed to build more, are countries like Iran and North Korea allowed to build them too?

This could lead to a huge global conflict like World War III.

[kodak726]

without the Moderator the reactor can be started but the reaction cannot be controlled moderator moderates the chain reaction and Uranium is a fossil fuel because it is available in nature. Thank you sir

[RectumPilum]

I still don't understand the point of the enormous chimney.

[OhReallyNoWai]

@RectumPilum The chimneys are just cooling towers

[RectumPilum]

@OhReallyNoWai I know but why do they have to be so big?

[goretn]

Good presentation, BUT Steve,Nuclear is not fossil!

[kuboss007]

@goretn : nuclear - energy, uran - fosil product

[hahayoulaughed]

@kuboss007 I'm not exactly sure what your saying but I think your saying, uranium is a fossil product, if that is what you are saying, you are completely and utterly WRONG. Uranium, along with all other elements were created at the time of the big bang, no more will ever be made, nor can it be destroyed. If you were not saying uranium is a fossil product then I'm sincerely sorry.

[megadeathx]

Fossil is being used in an inclusive sense. The fact that it's a fossil of the big bang should not detract from the fact that it is a fossil. The fossil fuels from decayed organic matter (oil) is another fossil fuel, but not the definition of fossils in general.

[psman85]

mm very interesting, but i think nuclear power is very inefficient, to much machinery needed to make it work, cant they make like a solar panel but to work with the radiation of these ???

[nivek3211]

very well put, simple to undersatand and to the point. well done.

[Slic3R1]

every second the Son produces enough energy to power all Earth for a million years

[geoffart]

yep, works in same way as it uses heat and generates steam, turning a turbine hence creating electricity. The hard bit is getting the fuel, storing the fuel, controlling the reaction safely (ask the Russians), and disposing of the waste.

[fdlbeats]

there r much better vids on the tube.

[mazr2006]

thanks a bunch

[bpbusstop]

Awesome i just find stuff like this interesting, not very good for terrorists though.

[TheOwNeR395]

thx for the upload

[tazss159]

thanks i learnt something new today

[Fireball9392]

Thank you very much!

[SitarSavior]

Tonnes.. :D

[dan020350]

so that is why my business/physics professor does not want to handle the task on the bi-products, when the senate offered him whatever price you want.

[nwerkk]

you explained how a pressurizeried water reactor works

but the rbmk reactor uses the coolent directly to create steam

[Prankmonkey]

wow i gues u must be a genius then

[ChaosRulerX]

how should a nuclear central be located ?

[maxestuardo]

I need a job

[Perth2705]

yeah..practical... however by products from the reaction are very dangerous because plutonium could be used by terrorist to build a home atomic bomb... and these byproducts endure hundreds of years... and still contaminants.... mm

[Ackbar60]

yeah except we have seen terrorists can use simple objects like planes and cause much more damage and cause with out of all the hassle of knowing how to actually build a nuke.

As for the byproducts remember that Uranium is radioactive before it is used for nuclear power so it's not like you are creating the radiation.

[hotFusionReaction]

And also that it is possible to power a Nuclear Reactor from things like Thorium,...which are far more prevalent in the Earth's crust than Uranium.

While not "renewable" (a term I find specious in itself since the materials to manufacture "renewable" energy sources themselves are often *NOT* renewable), we know for a fact the supply can be measured in centuries, if not millennia.

[hotFusionReaction]

But that's something of a specious argument because Terrorists can use *anything* as a lethal weapon if they put their mind to it.

There's no reason (especially considering we've managed it fine so far up to this point) to believe we can't continue to exploit Nuclear Energy while safeguarding it at the same time.

[ninja313124]

but u need to spell

[theoxtheory]

@SuckerKids might wanna learn how to spell em first

[prankmakers95]

can u teach me how batery works i have ben asking me thissame q every time i see the battery and how human can make it better

[joshuaki3]

Nice video. Are you a nuclear engineering or physics professor?