Radioactivity Most of the naturally occurring elements are stable. However, some of the isotopes of heavy elements such as thallium, bismuth, radium and uranium are unstable isotopes. These unstable elements undergo stages of disintegration and emit radiations till a more stable nucleus is reached. Such elements are called radioactive isotopes. Thus the radioactivity can be … Read more

Conversion of Nuclear Energy Natural uranium consists of three isotopes of uranium as 92U238, 92U235, 93U234. In natural uranium the availability of U238 is largest upto the extent of 99.28%, U235 is only 0.715% which is most unstable and the remainder 0.006% is U234. In 92U238, number 92 represent 92 protons, number 238 represent its mass number and the difference (238-92) … Read more

Distinguish Between Fission and Fusion Reaction Sr. No. Fission Fusion 1. Enormous amount of energy is liberate. Enormous amount of energy is liberated. 2. A heavy nucleus splits into two nuclei. Two lighter nuclei fuse together. 3. The process is possible at room temperature. Process is possible only at very high temperature. 4. The link … Read more

Nuclear Fusion Nuclear fusion is the process in which two lighter nuclei are combined to be fused together to from a heavier and stable nucleus. The mass of the product nucleus formed is less than the sum of the masses of the nuclei fused. The mass difference or the mass defect is converted into energy … Read more

Nuclear Binding Energy There exists a difference in the theoretically calculated mass of nuclei (i.e. sum of masses of protons and neutrons) and the actual mass of the atomic nucleus. This difference in mass is called the mass defect (△m). This mass defect is found by adding up the masses of all the individual particles … Read more

Chemical and Nuclear Reactions In a chemical reaction each atom participates as a whole and it involves the combination or separation of whole atoms in exothermic and endothermic reactions respectively. Consider the chemical reaction of carbon with oxygen which can be written as : C+O2→CO2+ heat energy released. The heat energy released is about 4 … Read more

Structure of Atom The atom of an element is the smallest particle which can exist. The structure of an element decides the chemical properties of the element. An atom consists of nucleus at the centre and the number of electrons orbiting around the nucleus. The nucleus of the atom consists of protons and neutrons which … Read more

Advantages and Disadvantages of Nuclear Power Plants Q. What are the advantages of nuclear power plants? Q. What are 4 advantages of nuclear power? Q. Advantages and Challenges of Nuclear Energy Q. Nuclear energy pros and cons Following are the advantages of nuclear plants : It reduces the demand on depleting resources of energy and … Read more

Nuclear Power Plants Availability of power developed by hydro-electric power plants is tremendously affected by the vagaries of monsoon rain from year to year. In a year when monsoon fails, power cuts become inevitable in case of hydel power is connected to power grids. On the other hand, steam, diesel and gas turbine power plants … Read more

Hydroelectric Power Development in India India is the 7th largest producer of hydroelectric power in the world. It was producing 114TWh of energy in the year 2008 which is about 3.5% of the world’s total hydroelectric power. Present installed capacity of hydroelectric power is 37367.4 MW as on 30 June 2011 which is about 21.5% of … Read more