Energy, features and articles | Educational Science

Jul 29, 2019

Mysterious Radiation Cloud Over Europe Traced to Secret Russian Nuclear Accident

A vast cloud of nuclear radiation that spreadover continental Europe in 2017 has been traced to an unacknowledged nuclear accident in southern Russia, according to an international team of scientists. The experts say the cloud of radiation detected over Europe in late September 2017 could only have been caused by...

Aug 16, 2019

Was Deadly Explosion Off the Arctic Coast the Result of a Nuclear-Powered Russian Weapon?

An explosion off Russia's Arctic coast has led to speculation that the incident resulted from a failed test of a nuclear-powered cruise missile. But do the details of the deadly blast point to such a weapon — one that no country has yet successfully created — and if so, what...

Jun 28, 2020

Mysterious radiation spike detected over Scandinavia

Radioactivity levels have spiked in the atmosphere over northern Europe, and that could indicate damage at a nuclear power plant in western Russia, according to a Dutch health agency that has analyzed the data. The radioactive spike suggests damage to a nuclear fuel element, the Associated Press reported. However, the...

Dec 18, 2020

Unsafe levels of radiation found in Chernobyl crops

Crops grown near the Chernobyl nuclear site in Ukraine are still contaminated with radiation from the explosive 1986 disaster. In a new study, researchers found that wheat, rye, oats and barley grown in this area contained two radioactive isotopes — strontium 90 and cesium 137 — that were above safe...

Jan 6, 2021

Iran is enriching uranium to 20%. What does that mean?

Iran announced that it is enriching uranium to 20% purity — does that mean they could develop a nuclear bomb? The uranium enrichment process began at the Fordow nuclear facility in Iran on Monday (Jan. 4), according to the Islamic Republic News, the official news agency of the Iranian government....

May 11, 2021

Alcohol made from radioactive Chernobyl apples seized by Ukraine government

In 2019, a group of scientists and distillers decided to create a bold new type of booze: Atomik, an artisanal alcoholic spirit made from ingredients grown in the Chernobyl nuclear power plant's still-radioactive exclusion zone. (The booze itself was not radioactive after the distilling process, Live Science previously reported). Now,...

May 26, 2021

How much energy can be created at one time?

Above our heads there is a powerful energy source created by nature, the Sun. Because the Sun is 93 million miles from us, only one-billionth of the Sun's total energy output reaches the Earth, creating a world blooming with life. The energy that the sun gives the Earth's surface every...

Jul 9, 2021

Fission vs. fusion: What's the difference?

Fission and fusion are both natural atomic processes that release incredible amounts of energy, but in many ways, they are opposites. Fission involves the splitting of a single, generally heavy, atomic nucleus, whereas fusion requires the combining of two or more light atoms. Atoms include protons and neutrons bound together...

Jul 23, 2021

China is gearing up to activate the world's first 'clean' commercial nuclear reactor

Chinese government scientists have unveiled plans for a first-of-its-kind, experimental nuclear reactor that does not need water for cooling. The molten-salt nuclear reactor, which runs on liquid thorium rather than uranium, is expected to be safer than traditional reactors because the molten salt cools and solidifies quickly when exposed to...

Feb 25, 2022

What would happen if Russia bombed Chernobyl?

Russian troops have captured the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, which still contains nuclear waste that could pose a threat to the surrounding area. What would happen if the site were to be bombed? Our defenders are giving their lives so that the tragedy of 1986 will not be repeated, Ukrainian...

Mar 4, 2022

Ukrainian nuclear plant set on fire. Should we worry about another Chernobyl?

Russian troops have seized Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant after overnight shelling sparked a fire near one of the facility's reactors, which burned for several hours. World leaders have condemned the reckless attack on the plant, the largest nuclear facility by capacity in Europe, after a projectile struck an auxiliary...

Mar 9, 2022

Chernobyl nuclear power plant has lost electricity

Chernobyl’s nuclear power plant and all the facilities in the Chernobyl exclusion zone have been completely disconnected and are now without electricity, Ukraine’s state energy company has announced. Russian forces attacked the defunct nuclear facility on the very first day of the invasion (Feb. 24), seizing it after heavy fighting...

Mar 14, 2022

Chernobyl plant loses electricity again

Chernobyl's nuclear power plant has lost electricity again, just hours after being switched back on, Ukraine's state energy company has said. Russian forces attacked the defunct nuclear facility on the very first day of the invasion (Feb. 24), seizing it after heavy fighting and taking its roughly 210 staff hostage,...

Dec 13, 2022

What is nuclear fusion?

Nuclear fusion is the reaction that churns at the hearts of stars, in which two light atomic nuclei merge into a single heavier nucleus. Fusion produces very little nuclear waste, and no greenhouse gas emissions, which means it has long been touted as a potential clean alternative to conventional energy...

Mar 25, 2023

How do you decontaminate objects exposed to radioactivity?

On April 26, 1986, an accident at Ukraine's Chernobyl nuclear power plant caused some 350,000 people to flee their homes as thick plumes of radioactive material spewed into the sky, according to the World Nuclear Association. Upon evacuating, they would have had to decontaminate their clothes, bodies and any items...