Greta Stacy is a high school science teacher in Doha, Qatar. She has previously taught in Ecuador and the United States.
Nuclear energy is important to teach about because there can be many misconceptions that need to be addressed. Understanding how nuclear energy works can be a good first step. Engage students and give them a voice by having them advocate for or against nuclear energy as a climate change solution. Focusing on solutions is empowering for students and can give them a sense of agency.
Written By: MIT Environmental Solutions Initiative
The MIT Climate Change Engagement Program, a part of MIT Climate HQ, provides the public with nonpartisan, easy-to-understand, and scientifically-grounded information on climate change and its solutions.
Nuclear energy is energy made by breaking the bonds that hold particles together inside an atom, a process called “nuclear fission.” This energy is “carbon-free,” meaning that like wind and solar, it does not directly produce carbon dioxide (CO2) or other greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change. In the U.S., nuclear power provides almost half of our carbon-free electricity.
Because the nuclear bonds inside atoms hold so much energy, nuclear power plants can make more energy with less fuel than any other technology today. In fact, nuclear power could meet the average American’s lifetime energy needs with an amount of fuel that would fit in a soda can.
How it works
Some atoms, like uranium-235 and plutonium-239, are prone to breaking apart when collided with particles called neutrons. In a nuclear power plant, a fuel with high concentrations of these atoms is placed in a secure device called a nuclear reactor. Here, free neutrons circulate until the fuel absorbs them, which triggers the atoms to split. When the atoms split, they release more neutrons, so more and more atoms split in a chain reaction. The massive energy released by this nuclear fission makes the reactor incredibly hot.
Usually, this heat is used to boil water and turn a turbine, making electricity.
