By Celina Treviño (M)

Graphic by: Andrés Ortiz Mena & Dueynn Ogaz (M)

Nuclear power plants use the heat produced by collisions of atom particles to produce electricity. Using special machines, nuclear scientists split uranium atoms (by fission), converting energy to heat. The heat boils water in machines that create steam. This steam turns on a turbine which spins the pipe of a generator. Inside the generator, coils made of wire spin in a magnetic field and electricity is produced. This electricity is then used in houses, street lights, and even provides power to light up entire cities. There are two types of nuclear power plants in the United States:

- Boiling water reactor: produces steam inside a vessel. The electricity produced by these plants is used to light up homes, street lights and small communities.

- Pressurized water reactor: produces steam outside the reactor vessel and has a pressurizer. The electricity of this plant is used to light up bigger communities or even entire cities.

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