Nuclear energy

Nuclear energy: The energy released during a nuclear reaction is called nuclear energy. Nuclear energy can obtained by two types of nuclear reactions: nuclear fission and nuclear fusion.

The process in which the heavy nucleus of a radioactive atom (such as uranium, plutonium, or thorium) splits up into smaller nuclei when bombarded with low energy neutrons, is called nuclear fission. A tremendous amount of energy is produced in the nuclear fission process. The sum of masses of the smaller nuclei formed in a fission reaction is a little less than that of the original heavy nucleus. So, there is a small loss of mass in the nuclear fission process which appears as a tremendous amount of energy. when uranium 235 atoms are bombarded with slow moving neutrons, the heavy uranium nucleus breaks up to produce two medium weight atoms, barium-94, with the emission of 3 neutrons. A tremendous amount of energy is produced during the fission of uranium. This fission reaction can be represented in the form of a nuclear equation as:

              _₉₂ U²⁵ᵌ+₀nⁱ →₅₆ Baⁱᶾ⁹ + ₃₆Kr⁹⁴+ ₀nⁱ+ tremendous amount of energy.

The energy produced during nuclear fission reactions is used for generating electricity at nuclear power plants. The process in which two nuclei of light elements (like that a hydrogen) combine to form a heavy nucleus (like that of helium), is called nuclear fission. A tremendous amount of energy is produced during the fusion process.

When deuterium atoms (heavy hydrogen atoms of mass no 2) are heated to an extremely high temperature under extremely high pressure, then two deuterium nuclei combine together to form a heavy nucleus of helium, and a neutron is emitted. A tremendous amount of energy is liberated in this fusion reaction. This fusion reaction can be written as:

 ₁H²+₁H²→₂Heᵌ+₀nⁱ+ tremendous amount of energy.

A fusion process is just the opposite of fusion process. The energy produced in nuclear fusion reaction is, however, much more than that produced in a nuclear fusion reaction. The energy produced during nuclear fusion not has been controlled so far. So, nuclear fusion energy could not be used for generating electricity so far. The nuclear reactions  which occurs at extremely high temperature are called thermonuclear reactions.