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Nuclear power is one of our most recent sources of energyThe fuel used in nuclear power stations is uranium. When atoms of uranium are split, a great deal of heat is given off. In a controlled process at a nuclear power station this heat is used to heat water to make steam. The steam is used to drive turbines which turn generators to produce electricity. Though nuclear power stations cost large amounts of money to build they are cheap to run. Uranium ore is mined Uranium ore is mined underground or by opencast mining in much the same way as coal. When it has been dug from the ground, uranium ore is treated to make yellowcake. Yellowcake is made into fuel The yellowcake is taken to a fuel manufacturing plant. At the plant fuel pellets are made. The pellets are then packed into fuel pins which are put together in bundles known as assemblies. Nuclear fuel at the power station At the nuclear power station the assemblies are put in the nuclear reactor. Other rods, called control rods, control the amount of heat produced. The centre of the nuclear reactor is called the core. Making electricity The heat from the core of the reactor is used to boil water to make steam. The steam turns turbines to work a generator which produces electricity. Nuclear fuel can be used again Unlike coal, oil and gas, nuclear fuel can be used again. The fuel rods are taken to a fuel reprocessing plant to be made useful again. Great care is needed Nuclear waste can be dangerous and great care must be taken when it is stored. Find the word. Use one of the words in the list to complete each sentence. control fuel waste core
2. Uranium _____ pellets are made from yellowcake. 3. In the centre of a nuclear reactor, there are fuel elements and _____ rods. 4. Because nuclear _____ is dangerous, it has to be stored with great care.
Finland – 20% United Kingdom – 6% Sweden – 31 % France – 27% West Germany – 10% When atoms split it is called fission Heat for the power station is made when atoms of uranium split. When they split some of the particles given off make other atoms split. This process goes on and on giving off more heat as more atoms split. The process of splitting an atom is called fission and because it carries on and on it is called a chain reaction. 3. Brainstorming. In small groups discuss the following questions and answer them: 1. How much coal does it take to produce as much energy as one uranium pellet? 2. In the future how may highly active nuclear waste be stored? 3. What do we call the process of splitting the atom? 4. How many uranium fuel pellets are required to light a 100 watt light bulb for 10 years? 5. What is the name given to concentrated uranium ore? 6. In a reprocessing plant, spent uranium fuel is separated into three things. What are they? 7. What proportion of U.K. electricity is generated by nuclear power? 8. What material is used to make the outer shield of a nuclear reactor? 9. Spent nuclear fuel is moved to a reprocessing plant in special strong containers. What material are these containers made of? 10. What is produced when atoms of uranium fuel are split? 11. What size is a uranium fuel pellet? 12. What is produced when water is heated by the energy given off from uranium fuel?
Show the correct order by writing 1 by the first sentence, 2 by the second sentence, and so on up to 10 for the last sentence. Electricity from uranium The sentences below tell briefly the process of making electricity from uranium. But the sentences are not in their correct order. □ The heat produced is controlled by control rods. □ The turbines work a generator. □ The pellets are packed into fuel pins. □ Yellowcake is made into fuel pellets. □ The generator produces electricity. □ The heat boils water to make steam. □ The fuel pins are bundled into assemblies and put into the centre of the nuclear reactor. □ Uranium ore is mined. □ The steam turns turbines. □ The ore is treated to make yellowcake.
TEXT 3. FUTURE SOURCES
Fuel for the future The fossil fuels of oil, coal and gas will not last forever. Once they are burned to produce energy they are gone. For this reason scientists around the world are working hard to invent and improve other ways of producing energy. They are particularly interested in renewable energy sources like energy from the sun, energy from the wind and energy from rivers and seas. Scientists are also working on other fuel sources like nuclear fusion because many countries could not produce enough energy from wind, water or the sun. Wind power
Wave power
Geothermal energy Geothermal means heat from the earth. Deep down in the earth is rock so hot that it has been turned into a liquid by the heat. This liquid rock is called magma and it heats the hard rock above it. By drilling holes into this hard rock we can get at the heat. The heat is then used to turn water into steam, which can be used to drive turbines and generate electricity. Solar power Power from the sun, called solar power, can be used in different ways. In some solar power stations hundreds of mirror panels are used to reflect the sun's rays to heat water in a boiler. As the water boils, the steam produced is used to drive turbines and generate electricity. Electricity can also be produced by large solar panels which work in the same way as the panels in some pocket calculators. The main problem with solar energy is that energy can only be produced when the sun is shining. Nuclear fusion The energy of the sun is produced by nuclear fusion. In nuclear fusion great amounts of energy are given off when two atoms join together. It is this energy that scientists are trying to produce on earth. The main difficulty is that temperatures of over a hundred million degrees celsius are needed to fuse atoms in the sun. If scientists can solve the problems of fusion it will give us cheap power that will last forever.   ЧТО ТАКОЕ УВЕРЕННОЕ ПОВЕДЕНИЕ В МЕЖЛИЧНОСТНЫХ ОТНОШЕНИЯХ? Исторически существует три основных модели различий, существующих между...  Что делать, если нет взаимности? А теперь спустимся с небес на землю. Приземлились? Продолжаем разговор...  ЧТО И КАК ПИСАЛИ О МОДЕ В ЖУРНАЛАХ НАЧАЛА XX ВЕКА Первый номер журнала «Аполлон» за 1909 г. начинался, по сути, с программного заявления редакции журнала...  Что способствует осуществлению желаний? Стопроцентная, непоколебимая уверенность в своем... Не нашли то, что искали? Воспользуйтесь поиском гугл на сайте:
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1. The centre of a nuclear reactor is called the reactor _____.
Percentage of total energy produced by nuclear power in different countries
1. Project work. Work in groups of three or four. Look through the following texts below. Try to collect as much information as possible about Future sources of energy. Get ready to present this information to your class and to answer questions about it.
Windmills have been used for hundreds of years to grind corn and work machinery. Modern windmills are used to run generators to make electricity. If much electricity is needed the windmills need to be large and there have to be a lot of them. There are also other problems. If the wind doesn't blow hard enough no electricity is produced. If the wind blows too hard it may damage the windmill.
The power of the sea, in the rise and fall of waves, can be used to make electricity. Floating power stations have been suggested as one way of capturing this energy. These power stations would use the force of the waves to drive air or water through a turbine to produce electricity in a generator. Power stations like this would need to be very strong to prevent them from being damaged by storms at sea.