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How Is Energy Made From Nuclear Materials?

Nuclear energy supplies 19.6 percent of the United States' electricity, according to the Nuclear Energy Institute in Washington, D.C., with the active use of 104 nuclear reactors. Nuclear material refers to the uranium, plutonium and thorium that are the source materials from which energy is derived through nuclear fission, the splitting of atoms. Nuclear fusion involves the fusing of atoms, resulting in energy release. While progress has been made with research and in creating controlled nuclear fusion reactions on a limited basis to produce energy, commercial use of nuclear fusion is not likely in the near future. Source materials for creating energy from nuclear fusion include deuterium and lithium-6.

Nuclear Fission
- In nuclear fission, the nucleus of the atom is split by a neutron. The nucleus is split in two, and two or three neutrons are emitted at the same time. The sum of all of these masses is less than that of the original mass, which results in about .1 percent of the original mass converted into and released as energy.
Nuclear Reactors and Atomic Bombs
- Inside a nuclear reactor.
  
  The Nuclear Peace Foundation (NPF) explains how energy is obtained from nuclear fission, as applied in the use of nuclear reactors for electricity and in the detonation of an atomic bomb. The radioactive material, usually uranium, is split as described in the previous section. The energy released is in the form of warmth, radiation and gamma rays. The released neutrons split the nuclei of still more atoms in a chain reaction. When the energy released from this chain reaction is controlled and harnessed, electricity energy can be harvested, as with nuclear power plants.
Atomic Bomb
- The atom bomb uses radioactive material such as uranium and the process of nuclear fission to produce destructive energy.
  
  The peaceful use of controlled nuclear reactions used to produce electricity, though not without its own environmental and safety issues, contrasts with the uncontrolled use of nuclear fission such as that used by the atomic bomb. The same process used by nuclear power plants is used by the atomic bomb, the difference being the release of energy by the atomic bomb is uncontrolled, resulting in what the NPF describes as "devastating destruction."
  
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Nuclear Fusion
- The sun produces energy through the nuclear fusion of hydrogen.
  
  The sun uses nuclear fusion when it fuses atoms of hydrogen with electrons to produce helium. This is considered a nuclear reaction, though not one produced through the use of radioactive materials such as in the process of nuclear fission in nuclear energy and atomic bombs. The University of Oregon Department of Physics explains that this process of nuclear fusion takes place in the center of the sun and that the evidence indicates that it is the same process used by all stars to produce energy. The resultant product of fused hydrogen results in the production of helium, which makes up 25 percent of the sun's mass, as well as the release of photons and neutrinos, releasing energy in the form of heat and light.

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