A new dawn for nuclear power

The use of nuclear power to reduce the dependency on fossil fuels to meet the energy needs and carbon-dioxide emissions, is discussed. Several countries are planning to build new nuclear power stations for generating electricity. Nuclear power can help to resist global warming and provide a reliable supply of electricity. Nuclear power generation begins in the core of a reactor, where neutrons are fired into uranium-235 nuclei causing them to split into lighter nuclei. Collisions between the fissions products and surrounding atoms generate heat, which is extracted by a coolant that circulates through the core and generates steam. The steam drives a turbine and generator, which are connected up to the electricity grid. Many advanced design processes, such as the Advanced Boiling Water Reactor (ABWR), which is basically an optimized version of BWR, and the Advanced Candu Reactor (ACR), which is based on the very successful Canadian Candu reactor, are being used to make reactors.