Gauge Newsletter January 2020 | Page 40

Fukushima Daiichi Meltdown Statue of a child standing up bravely and strongly against any difficulties it faces There are various ways that we could generate electricity. Some of them are hydropower, solar power, wind power and fossil fuel such as coal and diesel. Nuclear energy is not a familiar topic among Sri Lankans. However, nuclear power provides almost 15% of the world’s electricity. The first nuclear power plants were built as small demonstrations in the 1960s. A nuclear power plant is similar to a large coal-fired power plant with valves, steam generators, turbines, electric generators, pumps, condensers and associated equipment. The main difference between these two is the nuclear reactor. It has similar functionality to the boiler of a coal power plant. A nuclear reactor contains and controls nuclear chain reactions that produce heat through a physical process called fission. The main job of a reactor is to control nuclear fission. Nuclear fission is a process where atoms split and release energy. Reactors use nuclear fuel to operate. Uranium is the most common nuclear fuel. Uranium is processed into small ceramic pellets. Then, they are stacked together into sealed metal tubes called fuel rods. Typically more than 200 of these rods are bundled together to form a fuel assembly. A reactor core is typically made up of a couple of hundred assemblies, depending on the power level. Page 38 University of Peradeniya GAUGE Magazine