Hello, I'm Heidi.
And I'm Dash.
We are hosts at the Ontario Science Centre.
We're exploring how different kinds of energy can be transformed for use in our daily lives.
Let's look at how we transform nuclear energy to generate electricity.
Nuclear energy is one of many ways we can power our lights, devices, and more.
About 60% of electricity in Ontario is generated by nuclear power plants.
Energy can never be created or destroyed, but it can be transformed.
To generate electricity we must transform kinetic energy, which is moving energy into
electric current.
Nuclear energy works by generating kinetic energy from heat, but where do you get the heat
Well, first we need uranium.
Uranium is a heavy metal that occurs naturally in the Earth's crust.
After mining uranium from the earth, we compact it into tiny pellets that look sort of like this.
It only takes eight pellets to power an average household for an entire year.
The pellets are placed inside a fuel bundle.
One bundle would provide enough electricity to supply a family of four for a hundred years.
Next, we need a reactor.
In Canada we use CANDU reactors, which stands for Canada, deuterium uranium.
So if the D stands for deuterium, what is deuterium?
Well, regular water has one oxygen atom and two hydrogen atoms, but deuterium oxide, the
type of water we're talking about, has two hydrogen atoms with an extra neutron each.
That's why we also call it heavy water.
The uranium fuel bundle is placed inside the core of the CANDU reactor, which uses a process
called nuclear fission to split the uranium atoms.
This begins a chemical reaction that quickly generates heat inside the reactor.
Heavy water circulates through the reactor to control the fission process and to cool
the reactor down.
This whole process heats heavy water in a steam generator to create high pressured steam,
which then spins turbines attached to a generator to create electricity.
But that's not all some CANDU reactors help create a radioactive isotope called cobalt
60, which can be used to sterilize medical equipment, personal protective equipment and food.
It's also used in a type of cancer treatment called gamma knife radiosurgery.
Talk about a can-do attitude.
Since it relies on mined uranium, nuclear power is a non-renewable energy source, which means
one day we could run out of uranium.
And even though nuclear power is a reliable, efficient source of energy and it doesn't
emit any greenhouse gases, nuclear power reactors do create radioactive waste, which can be
extremely dangerous.
So scientists are working on better ways to reduce and store that waste safely.
Harnessing energy from any source requires lots of resources.
Whether you're relying on nuclear power, fossil fuels, biofuels, solar, wind power, or hydroelectricity,
your energy consumption has an effect on other people and the planet.
Luckily, there are lots of things you can do to reduce the impact of your energy use.
Like turn the lights off when you're not using them.
Hey!
Sorry.
Using LED light bulbs is another great choice.
These bulbs use less energy and they last longer.
Also remember to unplug anything you're not using like phone chargers.
Devices that are plugged in use electricity from the outlet, even when they're not on.
This is called Phantom power.
Another option is to plug them into power bar and just turn off the switch .
Dash, quit messing around.
Sorry.
Instead of fossil fuels or electricity, you can use your own kinetic energy to get around.
What she means is that you should walk, ride your bike or take public transit whenever you can.
That way you can save energy and enjoy the ride.