Fukushima Power Plant
Fukushima Power Plant
Nuclear power plants now account for 14% of the world’s electricity supply [1]. These power plants differ only by the fuel used from oil coal or gas power plants. The concept is otherwise the same. Large nuclei become unstable when struck with a neutron, his causes it to split apart and also produce neutrons which are fire out. This then causes a chain reaction and other nuclei are split up. This splitting of nuclei is called nuclear fission and it provides heat which heats p water to produce electricity. There are 2 types of nuclear power plants: boiling water reactors and pressurised water reactors.in a boiling water reactor the heat from nuclear fission causes water to boil which produces steam to drive a turbine. This turbine is connected to a generator which uses electromagnetic induction to produce electricity. In a pressurised water reactor the water is kept under a very high pressure and this prevents it from boiling even though it reaches very high temperatures. This hot water then is filtered through many pipes and the heat from this water is hot enough to boil the water outside the pressurised pipes. This then produces steam to drive the generator. In order to control the amount of heat big generated by the nuclear fission rods are inserted into the reaction chamber which absorb the neutrons. This prevents as much nuclear fission going on and therefore lowers the temperature.
In Japan they have a nuclear reactor in Fukushima and on 11th march 2011 after a major earthquake the cooling rods were disabled. The earthquake caused all of the nuclear reactors to be shut down automatically and they started to run on generators in the basement of the nuclear power plant. However these were flooded when the tsunami hit and failed to work. This meant that the cooling system stopped working and this cause the fuel rods to start to react with the steam producing hydrogen. The fuel rods melted down due to the high temperatures and this
Nuclear power plants now account for 14% of the world’s electricity supply [1]. These power plants differ only by the fuel used from oil coal or gas power plants. The concept is otherwise the same. Large nuclei become unstable when struck with a neutron, his causes it to split apart and also produce neutrons which are fire out. This then causes a chain reaction and other nuclei are split up. This splitting of nuclei is called nuclear fission and it provides heat which heats p water to produce electricity. There are 2 types of nuclear power plants: boiling water reactors and pressurised water reactors.in a boiling water reactor the heat from nuclear fission causes water to boil which produces steam to drive a turbine. This turbine is connected to a generator which uses electromagnetic induction to produce electricity. In a pressurised water reactor the water is kept under a very high pressure and this prevents it from boiling even though it reaches very high temperatures. This hot water then is filtered through many pipes and the heat from this water is hot enough to boil the water outside the pressurised pipes. This then produces steam to drive the generator. In order to control the amount of heat big generated by the nuclear fission rods are inserted into the reaction chamber which absorb the neutrons. This prevents as much nuclear fission going on and therefore lowers the temperature.
In Japan they have a nuclear reactor in Fukushima and on 11th march 2011 after a major earthquake the cooling rods were disabled. The earthquake caused all of the nuclear reactors to be shut down automatically and they started to run on generators in the basement of the nuclear power plant. However these were flooded when the tsunami hit and failed to work. This meant that the cooling system stopped working and this cause the fuel rods to start to react with the steam producing hydrogen. The fuel rods melted down due to the high temperatures and this
References: [1] Lamb R. How Nuclear Power works. Howstuffworks [online] 2009. Available from: http://science.howstuffworks.com/nuclear-power1.htm accessed 2012 September 29. [2] Oi M. Japan panel: Fukushima nuclear disaster 'man-made '. BBC News [online] 2012. Available from: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-18718057 Accessed 2012 September 29. [3] Fukushima fault. RT News [online] 2012. Available from: http://rt.com/news/fukushima-nuclear-disaster-report-459/ Accessed 2012 October 2. [4] Diet 's Fukushima Nuclear Accident Independent Investigation Commission. France 24 [online] 2012. Available from: http://www.france24.com/en/20120705-fukushima-meltdown-man-made-nuclear-accident-tokyo-japan-tsunami-earthquake Accessed 2012 October 2 [5] Macdonald A. Nuclear Power Global Status. IAEA [online] 2006 Available from: http://www.iaea.org/Publications/Magazines/Bulletin/Bull492/49204734548.html Accessed 2012 October 2 [6] Royer Y. Japans last nuclear power plant closes. France 24 [online] 2012. Available from: http://www.france24.com/en/20120505-japan-left-without-nuclear-power-hokkaido-electric-company-closes-last-active-plant-tomari Accessed 2012 October 2