What is Nuclear power?
'''Nuclear power''' is the [[control]]led use of [[nuclear energy]]. Nuclear energy can be released by [[nuclear reaction]]s in a machine called a [[nuclear reactor]]. This energy boils water for a steam engine to make [[electricity]], which then can be used to power machines and homes. In 2023, 10% of the [[world]]'s electricity came from nuclear power.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Nuclear Power Today {{!}} Nuclear Energy - World Nuclear Association|url=https://world-nuclear.org/information-library/current-and-future-generation/nuclear-power-in-the-world-today.aspx#:~:text=Nuclear%20energy%20now%20provides%20about,in%20about%20220%20research%20reactors.|access-date=2023-06-07|website=world-nuclear.org}}</ref> Nuclear power plants also make [[radioactive]] [[waste]] that could be harmful if it is not stored properly. == History == [[Enrico Fermi]] made the first nuclear reactor in the year 1941. Many reactors were built in the U.S. during [[World War II]] during the [[Manhattan Project]]. In 1954 the first nuclear power plant started in Obninsk near [[Moscow]]. Most nuclear power plants in the U.S. were built during the 1960s and 1970s. Nuclear reactors also power some large [[military]] [[ship]]s and [[submarines]] and a few [[icebreaker]]s (a kind of ship). == Energy production == Nuclear reactors use a process called [[nuclear fission]], which uses [[Atom|atoms]] like uranium or plutonium (In particular the isotope [[Uranium-235|Uranium 235]]) and splits them apart with particles called [[neutron]]s. This converts some of the mass into energy, according to Einstein's equation [[E=mc2]]. The fissionable elements are placed into rods called 'fuel rods'. The fuel rods are submerged in water, and the energy released in the fission reaction heats up the water which turns into steam. The steam then turns a [[turbine]], which generates electricity. The steam is then condensed in huge [[cooling tower]]s, and it turns back into water and is sent into the reactor again. The reaction can be controlled by putting 'con