When it comes to climate change, how to meet the world\'s growing electrical ene

Question

When it comes to climate change, how to meet the world's growing electrical energy needs without carbon based fuels has taken center stage. Nuclear energy has been grouped with solar and wind energies as a zero-carbon-emission source. A typical nuclear reactor unit in the US has a gross electrical output of approximately 556 MW when operating normally. [W stands for watt. 1 W = 1 [/s; where] stands for Joule] In current nuclear reactors, the energy needed to produce electricity comes from the fission (breaking apart) of large, unstable atoms. A typical balanced fission reaction is shown below.^1_0n +^235_92U rightarrow^90_38Sr +^143_54Xe + 3^1_0n Think about how this reaction satisfies the Law of Conservation of Matter on page 40 of the textbook. Explain why the nuclide representation^1_0n makes sense as the representation for a neutron. If the symbol p were used for a proton, what would the nuclide representation of a proton look like? Fill in the missing blanks for the following balanced fission reaction:^1_0n +^235_32U rightarrow^89_36 +^144_56 +^1_0n To be an effective energy source, a nuclear reaction must sustain itself. What characteristic of the preceeding reactions allows them to continue without input from an external source? When one^235_92U atom undergoes the fission described in part (b), approximately 3.244 ties 10^-11J of energy is released. Assuming that all of the energy released by each fission event can be converted to electricity, how many^235_92U atoms must be split each second to generate the power of the nuclear reactor described above(556 MW)? Nuclear reactors average 35% efficiency in converting fission to electricity. Realistically, how many^235_92U atoms must be split each second to generate the 556 MW that will come from the reactor described above?

Explanation / Answer

(a) Neutron has 1 amu mass and no charge. 1n-0 notation signifies a unit mass but no charge. For a proton you should write 1-P+1 which means that that it has a 1amu mass and +1 charge.

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1n-0 + 235-U-92 -----> 89-Kr-36 + 144-Ba-56 + 2n

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A nuclear fission is initiated when neutrons hit U-235 nucleus. The neutron formed due to the fission of U-235 will collide with other U-235 nucleus and thus giving rise to a chain reaction. So, the process will go on its own.

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1 w = 1J/ s

556 Mwt = 556 *10^3 watt = 556*10^6 J/sec

energy obtained from 1 atom = 3.244 *10^-11 J

Number atoms that will give 556 MW energy = 556 *10^6 J/s/ 3.244 *10^-11 J/atom = 171.39 *10^16

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