Nuclear energy can be derived from many forms such as nuclear fission energy, fusion energy, and radioisotopic energy.

1.2.1

Nuclear Fission Energy

The essence of nuclear fission energy is that the heat produced by the splitting of heavy radioactive atoms (nuclear fission) during the chain reaction is used to gener­ate steam (or other process fluid) that helps rotate the steam turbine generator, thus producing electricity. Nuclear fission energy is the most common mode of produc­ing the bulk of the nuclear energy.

1.2.2

Nuclear Fusion Energy

A huge amount of energy (much higher than fission) can be produced using the nuclear fusion reaction (deuterium-tritium reaction). There is currently no com­mercial fusion reactors and is not envisioned to be set up for many years. A proto­type fusion reactor known as ITER (International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor) is being built in France and scheduled to produce the first plasma by 2018.

1.2.3

Radioisotopic Energy

Either radioactive isotopes (e. g., 238Pu, 210Po) or radioactive fission products (e. g.,

85 Kr, 90 Sr) can produce decay heat that can be utilized to produce electric power. These types of power sources are mainly used in remote space applications.

1.3