 When it comes to electricity generation, the only real difference between a coal-fired power plant and a nuclear power plant is in the way that heat is generated. In a fission reactor, the heat liberated by nuclear fission is in the form of kinetic energy of the fission fragments. This energy is used to heat water, create steam, and hence drive a generator to produce electricity. A coal-fired power plant creates heat by burning the coal, however that heat then drives a steam cycle in almost the same way as a nuclear power plant. The other main differences in power plant design are that the products of nuclear fission are highly radioactive, hence the need for a strong containment structure, radioactive shielding, and long-term storage of the spent fuel after heat has been used. As mentioned earlier, the nuclear fuel remains very hot even when fission reactions stop, so that cooling of the fuel is also needed after the reactor is powered down. The other major difference is that a coal-powered plant generates huge amounts of carbon dioxide every moment that coal is being burned, whereas the nuclear power plant generates no carbon dioxide during its ongoing operation.