About Nuclear Energy

What is it?

Nuclear energy is what is released as a result of a nuclear reaction, in which atomic nuclei are either joined or separated to produce new atoms. By extension, this also includes the interactions with and between elemental particles. This reaction releases a large amount of energy because part of the mass of particles involved in the process is directly transformed into energy. This process occurs spontaneously between some elements and at times it can be provoked by techniques such as neutron bombardment.

There are two ways to make use of the nuclear energy to convert it into heat: nuclear fission and fusion. Nuclear Fission  is produced by the division of heavy atomic nuclei (such as uranium), whereas Nuclear Fusion is produced by the union of very light atomic nuclei (e.g., hydrogen or its isotopes).