Nuclear power

2012 World [civil] electricity generation by fuels (IEA, 2014)

Nuclear power is the use of nuclear reactions that release nuclear energy to generate heat, which most frequently is then used in steam turbines to produce electricity in a nuclear power station. The term includes nuclear fission, nuclear decay and nuclear fusion. Presently, the nuclear fission of elements in the actinide series of the periodic table produce the vast majority of nuclear energy in the direct service of humankind, with nuclear decay processes, primarily in the form of geothermal energy, and radioisotope thermoelectric generators, in niche uses making up the rest.

Nuclear (fission) power stations, excluding the contribution from naval nuclear fission reactors, provided 11% of the world's electricity in 2012, somewhat less than that generated by hydro-electric stations at 16%. Since electricity accounts for about 25% of humanity's energy usage with the majority of the rest coming from fossil fuel reliant sectors such as transport, manufacture and home heating, nuclear fission's contribution to the global final energy consumption is about 2.5%, a little more than the combined global electricity production from "new renewables"; wind, solar, biofuel and geothermal power, which together provided 2% of global final energy consumption in 2014.

Nuclear power plant

A nuclear power plant is a thermal power station in which the heat source is a nuclear reactor. As is typical in all conventional thermal power stations the heat is used to generate steam which drives a steam turbine connected to an electric generator which produces electricity. As of 23 April 2014, the IAEA report there are 435 nuclear power reactors in operation operating in 31 countries. Nuclear power plants are usually considered to be base load stations, since fuel is a small part of the cost of production.

History

Electricity was generated by a nuclear reactor for the first time ever on September 3, 1948 at the X-10 Graphite Reactor in Oak Ridge, Tennessee in the United States, and was the first nuclear power plant to power a light bulb. The second, larger experiment occurred on December 20, 1951 at the EBR-I experimental station near Arco, Idaho in the United States. On June 27, 1954, the world's first nuclear power plant to generate electricity for a power grid started operations at the Soviet city of Obninsk. The world's first full scale power station, Calder Hall in England opened on October 17, 1956.

Power station

A power station (also referred to as a generating station, power plant, powerhouse, or generating plant) is an industrial facility for the generation of electric power. Most power stations contain one or more generators, a rotating machine that converts mechanical power into electrical power. The relative motion between a magnetic field and a conductor creates an electrical current. The energy source harnessed to turn the generator varies widely. Most power stations in the world burn fossil fuels such as coal, oil, and natural gas to generate electricity. Others use nuclear power, but there is an increasing use of cleaner renewable sources such as solar, wind, wave and hydroelectric.

History

The world's first power station was designed and built by Lord Armstrong at Cragside, England in 1868. Water from one of the lakes was used to power Siemens dynamos. The electricity supplied power to lights, heating, produced hot water, ran an elevator as well as labor-saving devices and farm buildings.

Power station (disambiguation)

A power station is a facility for the generation of electric power.

Power Station may also refer to:

Power Station (Taiwanese band)

Power Station (traditional Chinese: 動力火車; simplified Chinese: 动力火车; pinyin: Dònglì Huǒchē) is a Taiwanese rock duo, composed of Yu Chiu-hsin and Yen Chih-lin, both of the Paiwan tribe of Taiwan's Pingtung County. Their music is characterized by their fast-paced rock ballads, as well as their electrifying rock anthems. Their looks and long hair stand out from the mainstream Chinese pop scene because of their resemblance to typical western Heavy Metal musicians. In 2001, Power Station released their first album on the Grand Music label (later known as HIM International Music), Walking along Jhonghsiao East Street Nine Times. The title track of that album (Chinese version of song from 1997 "Takie tango" by Budka Suflera) won the Silver Award for Best Mandarin Song at the 24th RTHK Top Ten Golden Song Awards.

Biography

Yu Chiu-hsin and Yen Chih-lin graduated from Taiwan Adventist College in Nantou County, and formed a band called "Virgin Choir" (處男合唱團) with some friends before changing to "Prominent Position" (突出部位) and disbanding. At the ages of 25, they formed Power Station through singing western rock songs. After the release of their first album, their fames spread within the Chinese music scene in the 1990s. In 1998, they sang the theme song "When" (當) from the drama My Fair Princess.