1. What does the nuclear scientist do in his spare time?
MORE ENERGY
NUCLEAR
What does the nuclear scientist do in his spare time?
Goes fission

2. Why use alternatives to fossil fuels?
Fossil fuels are nonrenewable & will be depleted
Fossil fuels are pollutants
others
Fossil fuels make us dependent on other countries

3. Most Used Alternatives to fossil fuels
Nuclear power
Biomass energy
Hydroelectric power

4. This process is the same for nuclear power plants and weapons
NUCLEAR FISSION
Energy released by splitting apart the nuclei of an atom.
This process is the same for nuclear power plants and weapons

5. Uranium 235
Radioactive Decay

7. determine atomic number, neutrons, etc.
Isotopes
Look at periodic table
determine atomic number, neutrons, etc.

8. OTHER HIGHLY RADIOACTIVE ELEMENTS
Isotope
Decay
Half-Life
Use
U-238
alpha
4.5 by
contaminant of uranium mines
U-235
0.7 by
weapons, power
Pu-239
0.24 my
weapons, neutron generator
Cs-137
beta & gamma
39.2 yrs
cancer
I-131
8.1 days
medicine
C-14
beta
5730yrs
dating fossils

9. types of decay
alpha

10. beta

11. gamma

12. How many protons? neutrons? mass?
example problem
What type of decay?
How many protons? neutrons? mass?
What is “X”

13. Fill in the blanks

15. Explain Japan

17. Look familiar? Be able to replicate.

20. RESEARCH ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS OF
NUCLEAR ENERGY
CONS
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PROS
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21. Time it takes for ½ of a radioactive substance to decay.
Half-Life
Time it takes for ½ of a radioactive substance to decay.
For example, the half life of I-131 is ~8 days. If a sample has 5 grams of I-131 and 5 grams of Xe-131 (decayed product), then one half-life has occurred. If there’s 2.5 grams of I-131, than 2 half lives (16 days) has passed.

22. What fraction of the original I-131 would remain after 24 days?
Example problems.
What fraction of the original I-131 would remain after 24 days?
C-14 has a half-life of 5730 years. How old is a carbon document that has 25% C-14 and 75% decayed material?

24. accidents 3-Mile Island 1979 Chernobyl 1986 Fukushima 2011
Widespread health & environmental effects. External release of a significant fraction of reactor core. Wind blew radioactive cloud across much of USSR and Europe. Human error. Most severe nuclear accident.
Severe damage to the reactor core. Limited release of radioactive material.
Reactor shutdown after earthquake and tsunami; failure of emergency cooling caused an explosion. Total effects still being evaluated.

25. Key words Fission Half-Life Breeder reactor Radiation
Uranium (235 & 238) Isotope
Three-Mile Island Mass Number
Chernobyl, Ukraine Yucca Mountain
NIMBY Carlsbad, NM
Radioactive Decay Series

26. Laws/agencies Atomic Energy Act Nuclear Waste Policy Act NEPA
Nuclear Regulatory Commission

28. Currently, waste stored on site. Yucca Mountain Reality
WASTE STORAGE
Yucca Mountain Plan
Currently, waste stored on site.
Yucca Mountain Reality
NOTES: ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

29. Nuclear energy of the future? Fusion Occurs on stars (sun)
2 hydrogen nuclei fuse together to make helium. Is not radioactive.
Technology not available.