Question

Give one constructive and destructive use of nuclear power???

Answer 1

These are interesting questions. Let's first discuss what nuclear power is, and then think about why it could be useful to society, as well as some of the risks associated with it.

Nuclear power is the use of nuclear processes, such as fission, to generate heat and electricity that we can use. Nuclear fission is a process in which the nucleus of a particle splits into smaller, lighter nuclei. Usually, such processes result in a very large amount of energy released. How large? Well, if we compare a typical combustion reaction, such as coal burning (the kind that fuels the majority of our electricity in the country) or gasoline combustion, then we'll see that allowing 1 kilogram of Uranium-235 to undergo fission releases about 2-3 million times the amount of energy released in the combustion reaction of 1 kilogram sample of coal. That's HUGE difference! 2 million is a two followed by SIX zeroes (2,000,000).