24 The process of nuclear fission takes place inside a plant called a nuclear reactor. In Italy there are four nuclear power plants which were closed in 1990 and have been out of action since then. The first nuclear reactor in the world was built by the Italian physicist Enrico Fermi underneath the University of Chicago football field in 1942; in Italy, the first nuclear power station was built in Latina in 1963. Do you know of any accidents that have occurred in nuclear power plants? NUCLEAR ENERGY How is nuclear power generated? Nuclear power can be obtained from two different processes: nuclear fusion and nuclear fission. In nuclear fusion, atoms of radioactive elements are fused together to form a larger atom. This process, however, is not currently in use because of its high costs and the difficulty of controlling the fusion reaction. For this reason, all existing nuclear plants produce electrical energy by the process of nuclear fission. Nuclear fission In the nuclear fission process, the radioactive element used for nuclear fission is uranium. During nuclear fission, a neutron strikes a uranium atom and splits it, releasing a large amount of energy in the form of heat and radiation, together with neutrons. The neutrons continue to strike other uranium atoms, and the process is repeated over and over in a chain reaction. This reaction takes place inside long tubes called fuel rods and is controlled in nuclear power plant reactors by control rods and cooling systems. The heat generated by nuclear fission is used to produce steam to push turbines which activate a power generator. Energy production: is nuclear fusion really the future? the running costs of nuclear plants are quite low; nuclear power plants have sophisticated safety systems to prevent the leaking of radioactive materials. The most commonly known drawbacks of nuclear power are: uranium is non-renewable, so it will run out in the future; the malfunctioning of power plants can have catastrophic effects on the environment. SPLITS a larger atom into 2 or more smaller ones ELECTRICITY it produces very low carbon emissions, so it has a very small impact on climate change; the disposal of nuclear waste, which is highly toxic, is a big environmental problem, ONLINE RESOURCES 68 Pros and cons of nuclear power The use of nuclear power as a source of energy has been controversial since the building of the first nuclear power plant . The advantages of using nuclear power to produce electricity are: JOINS 2 or more lighter atoms into a larger one control rod: barra di controllo cooling system: sistema di raffreddamento drawback: svantaggio fuel rod: barra di combustibile molten: sciolto running cost: costo di gestione to strike: colpire