• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer
Zippy Facts Logo

Zippy Facts

Interesting Random Facts

  • Animals
  • Culture
  • Firsts
  • Food
  • Geography
  • Health
  • History
  • Inventions
  • Language
  • Mythology
  • Odds
  • People
  • Religion
  • Science
  • Space
  • Universe
  • World
You are here: Home / Science / How Did the Discovery of Atomic Fission Lead To Nuclear Power After the Invention of the Atomic Bomb?

How Did the Discovery of Atomic Fission Lead To Nuclear Power After the Invention of the Atomic Bomb?

July 22, 2020 by Karen Hill

Once the war was over, scientists could concentrate on other uses for this new source of tremendous amounts of energy.

Nuclear power plants were built to use fission to produce electricity.

There are now over 400 nuclear power plants in the world. France and Sweden produce nearly half their electricity with nuclear power.

There are two drawbacks, however, to nuclear power. There is always the possibility of an accident.

In 1986, a Russian nuclear reactor exploded, killing 19 people immediately and contaminating a huge area of Russia with harmful radioactivity.

Nuclear power plants also produce nuclear waste, which needs to be buried deep underground.

The waste remains radioactive for 13 million years.

Huge amounts of energy are also produced by nuclear fusion, when the nuclei of two small masses combine into one large mass.

The Sun produces its energy by nuclear fusion.

Related Facts

  • How is radioactive nuclear waste disposed of and stored safely underground?
  • Who Discovered Nuclear Fusion and How does fusing two atomic nuclei into one atom release energy?
  • What Is Food Irradiation and Is Food Irradiation Safe?
  • Could We Get All Our Power From Solar Energy When the World Runs Out of Oil and Coal?
  • Who Discovered Nuclear Fission and How does splitting uranium atoms apart produce energy?
  • How Does Uranium Produce Energy and How Does Nuclear Fission Work?

Filed Under: Science

About Karen Hill

Karen Hill is a freelance writer, editor, and columnist. Born in New York, her work has appeared in the Examiner, Yahoo News, Buzzfeed, among others.

Previous Post: « Why Was Astronomy So Important In Copernicus’s Time and Why Did Ships Use Astronomical Tables For Navigation?
Next Post: Why Didn’t Enrico Fermi Know He Discovered Nuclear Fission When He Conducted His Experiment With Neutrons? »

Footer

Follow

  • Facebook
  • Flickr
  • GitHub
  • Google+
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Medium
  • Pinterest
  • StumbleUpon
  • Tumblr
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Categories

Accomplishments Animals Culture Firsts Food Geography Health History Inventions Language Mythology Odds People Religion Science Space Universe World Your Body

About

Zippy Facts empowers the world by serving educational content that is accessible to everyone.

A tribute to growing up, zippyfacts.com showcases interesting and unusual facts about the world.

Our mission is to use technology to facilitate knowledge transfer and sharing.

Copyright © 2020 Zippy Facts

  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy