Nuclear Energy is energy released from the atomic nucleus. The conversion of nuclear mass to energy is consistent with the mass-energy equivalence formula E = mc², in which E = energy, m = mass defect, and c = the speed of light in a vacuum (a physical constant). This article is about applications of nuclear fission reactors as power sources. ... The nucleus of an atom is the very small dense region, of positive charge, in its centre consisting of nucleons (protons and neutrons). ... For other uses, see Mass (disambiguation). ... 15ft sculpture of Einsteins 1905 E = mc² formula at the 2006 Walk of Ideas, Germany In physics, mass-energy equivalence is the concept that all mass has an energy equivalence, and all energy has a mass equivalence. ... Binding energy is the energy required to disassemble a whole into separate parts. ... The speed of light in a vacuum is an important physical constant denoted by the letter c for constant or the Latin word celeritas meaning swiftness.[1] It is the speed of all electromagnetic radiation, including visible light, in a vacuum. ... Look up Vacuum in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... In physics, a physical constant is a physical quantity of a value that is generally believed to be both universal in nature and not believed to change in time. ...

Nuclear energy is released by three exothermic processes: In thermodynamics, the word exothermic describes a process or reaction that releases energy in the form of heat. ...

• Radioactive decay, where a proton or neutron in the radioactive nucleus decays spontaneously by emitting a particle
• Fusion, two atomic nuclei fuse together to form a heavier nucleus
• Fission, the breaking of heavy nucleus into two nuclei

Nuclear energy was first discovered accidentally by French physicist Henri Becquerel in 1896, when he found that photographic plates stored in the dark near uranium were blackened like X-ray plates, which had been just recently discovered at the time.^[1] Radioactive decay is the process in which an unstable atomic nucleus loses energy by emitting radiation in the form of particles or electromagnetic waves. ... Radioactive decay is the set of various processes by which unstable atomic nuclei (nuclides) emit subatomic particles. ... The deuterium-tritium (D-T) fusion reaction is considered the most promising for producing fusion power. ... An induced nuclear fission event. ... Antoine Henri Becquerel (December 15, 1852 – August 25, 1908) was a French physicist, Nobel laureate, and one of the discoverers of radioactivity. ... Year 1896 (MDCCCXCVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display calendar). ... General Name, symbol, number uranium, U, 92 Chemical series actinides Group, period, block n/a, 7, f Appearance silvery gray metallic; corrodes to a spalling black oxide coat in air Standard atomic weight 238. ... In the NATO phonetic alphabet, X-ray represents the letter X. An X-ray picture (radiograph) taken by Röntgen An X-ray is a form of electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength approximately in the range of 5 pm to 10 nanometers (corresponding to frequencies in the range 30 PHz...

Nuclear chemistry can be used as a form of alchemy to turn lead into gold or change any atom to any other atom (albeit through many steps).^[2] Isotope production often involves irradiation of another isotope with alpha rays, beta rays, or gamma rays. Nuclear chemistry is a subfield of chemistry dealing with radioactivity, nuclear processes and nuclear properties. ... For other uses, see Alchemy (disambiguation). ... This article is about the metal. ... GOLD refers to one of the following: GOLD (IEEE) is an IEEE program designed to garner more student members at the university level (Graduates of the Last Decade). ... For other uses, see Isotope (disambiguation). ... An alpha particle is deflected by a magnetic field Alpha particles or alpha rays are a form of particle radiation which are highly ionizing and have low penetration. ... Beta particles are high-energy electrons emitted by certain types of radioactive nuclei such as potassium-40. ... This article is about electromagnetic radiation. ...

Iron has the highest binding energy per nucleon of any atom. If an atom of lower average binding energy is changed into an atom of higher average binding energy, energy is given off. The chart shows that fusion of hydrogen, the combination to form heavier atoms, releases energy, as does fission of uranium, the breaking up of a larger nucleus into smaller parts. Stability varies between isotopes: the isotope U235 is much less stable than the more common U238. For other uses, see Iron (disambiguation). ... In physics a nucleon is a collective name for two baryons: the neutron and the proton. ... This article is about the chemistry of hydrogen. ... Uranium-235 is an isotope of uranium that differs from the elements other common isotope, uranium-238, by its ability to cause a rapidly expanding fission chain reaction. ... Uranium-235 is an isotope of uranium that differs from the elements other common isotope, uranium-238, by its ability to cause a rapidly expanding fission chain reaction. ...

Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ...

References

1. ^ Marie Curie - X-rays and Uranium Rays. aip.org. Retrieved on 2006-04-10.
2. ^ Turning Lead into Gold

Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 100th day of the year (101st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

See Also

• Nuclear power
• Nuclear fission
• Nuclear fusion

This article is about applications of nuclear fission reactors as power sources. ... An induced nuclear fission event. ... The deuterium-tritium (D-T) fusion reaction is considered the most promising for producing fusion power. ...

External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:

Nuclear energy

• American Nuclear Society
• Nuclear Power Engineering Conference
• The Nuclear Energy
• Uranium Resources and Nuclear Energy