History was forever changed when nuclear energy was discovered in the 20th century. A nuclear reaction can produce a vast amount of energy, primarily containing heat. The process used to complete this reaction consists of a small amount of the mass of an atom transforming into a large amount of energy. First hypothesized by Albert Einstein in 1905; he believed that the mass and energy are related in his “infamous” equation, E = mc2, in which energy (E) is equal to mass (m) times the speed of light (c) squared. Nuclear energy involves changes that occur within the nuclei of atoms; in which small amounts of matter from the nucleus are converted into very large amounts of energy to complete the process.
    There are two different types of nuclear reactors known as fission and fusion. Fission consists of a process that is used by nuclear power plants; larger atoms of certain elements are split into two smaller atoms of different elements. Where as fusion, processes the powers of the sun and other stars, to create two smaller atoms then combining to make one larger atom of a different form of element. In both cases, the mass of the end products turns out to be less than the mass of the starting materials because of a small quantity of the starting material is converted to energy. Nuclear reactions produce 100,000 times more energy per atom than a chemical reaction can.  

How Electricity is Produced from Nuclear Energy

Nuclear power plants typically have four main part; the reactor core, the steam generator, the turbine, and the condenser. Fission occurs in the reactor core, and the heat produced by nuclear fission is used to produce stream from liquid water in steam generator. The turbine then uses the steam to generate electricity, while the condenser cools the steam, converting it back to a liquid.
    A typical nuclear power plant also contains three water circuits. The primary water circuit which heats water, using energy produced by the fission reactions. From the reactor core, the very hot water then circulates to the steam generator, where it boils. Water is then held in a secondary water circuit, converting the water to steam. While a tertiary water circuit (the third circuit), provides cool water to the condenser, which then cools the spent steam into the secondary water circuit. As the final step is completed electricity is produced from the typical nuclear power plant.