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Nuclear Energy - Contenido educativo

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Subido el 28 de mayo de 2007 por EducaMadrid

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Third segment of Rocket to the Stars describes Nuclear Energy and how NASA Scientists will use this energy in space exploration.

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Now that you have a basic understanding of energy, let's hear about some innovative propulsion 00:00:00
technologies that NASA is developing for future space exploration. 00:00:07
And don't forget, you are the future explorers. 00:00:12
Thanks, Jennifer. 00:00:15
Space is big. 00:00:17
Distances to Mars and beyond are so large that when using today's spacecraft technology, 00:00:18
we can only send relatively small spacecraft. 00:00:24
In other words, distance affects the mass that we can send. 00:00:27
NASA is working on a new way of powering space vehicles that will enable us to send more 00:00:32
complex spacecraft to Mars, Jupiter, and beyond, and may even shorten the travel time. 00:00:37
The new program is called Prometheus. 00:00:44
It will provide a giant leap in our ability to explore our solar system. 00:00:47
The program focuses on using nuclear power in long-distance spacecraft. 00:00:51
The nuclear power system will create electricity that will be used for two things. 00:00:57
One job will be to propel the spacecraft. 00:01:02
The other will be to provide power for the instruments on board. 00:01:05
This capability will let NASA send spacecraft to places that we currently want to reach. 00:01:09
It would also allow us to do more scientific work when the spacecraft reaches its destination 00:01:15
and could even help speed up travel through the solar system. 00:01:21
Many space missions have used nuclear power. 00:01:25
The farthest known man-made object is the nuclear-powered spacecraft called Voyager 1. 00:01:28
This probe has been used for over 26 years. 00:01:33
It is now over 8 billion miles away. 00:01:37
That's more than twice the distance from the Sun to Pluto. 00:01:40
Remember, earlier in the program, Jennifer asked you to list some forms of energy? 00:01:44
On my list, I have mechanical energy, thermal energy, chemical energy, electromagnetic energy, 00:01:48
and nuclear energy. 00:01:56
Project Prometheus will be using nuclear energy to help power the spacecraft. 00:01:57
Nuclear energy is the energy stored in the nucleus of an atom. 00:02:03
In a nuclear reaction, a tiny portion of an atom's mass is turned into energy. 00:02:06
Scientists are studying two different ways of using the energy stored within the nucleus 00:02:12
of an atom. 00:02:17
The first approach is to take an atom that is naturally very unstable, which means that 00:02:18
the atom wants to change into a different, more stable atom. 00:02:23
During this change, the atom releases tiny particles causing the material to heat up. 00:02:27
This process is known as radioactive decay. 00:02:34
The released particles are called radiation. 00:02:37
The heat that is released can be harnessed and converted to electrical energy. 00:02:40
This energy can then be used to power the spacecraft systems. 00:02:45
It is called radioisotope decay. 00:02:49
The second approach is to break apart the nucleus of the atom to release even more energy 00:02:52
than radioactive decay. 00:02:57
This process is called nuclear fission. 00:02:59
It is used in nuclear power plants all around the world to produce electricity. 00:03:02
Nuclear fission systems can generate large amounts of power. 00:03:07
Think of this comparison. 00:03:11
A radioisotope power system could create enough power to light a few light bulbs. 00:03:13
A nuclear fission power system could create enough energy to power a laundromat. 00:03:18
This increased amount of energy means that a nuclear fission energy system could do more 00:03:24
than just power a spacecraft's scientific instruments. 00:03:29
It could also be used to run the engines that propel the rocket. 00:03:33
NASA hopes to use this technology soon. 00:03:37
In fact, it's already working on the first probe to use this technology. 00:03:39
This probe is the Prometheus 1 mission. 00:03:44
This mission will use a nuclear fission system. 00:03:46
This system would provide energy for both spacecraft electrical power and propulsion. 00:03:50
Prometheus 1 would orbit three of the larger moons of Jupiter, Callisto, Ganymede and Europa. 00:03:56
Europa is one of our solar system's most fascinating celestial bodies. 00:04:03
Europa's surface is completely covered in ice, but scientists believe that the solar 00:04:08
system's largest oceans could be hidden under that ice. 00:04:13
If oceans are indeed present, there is a possibility that life could be found there. 00:04:17
The Prometheus 1 mission will be finding answers to the mysteries of these moons. 00:04:22
One day, the same power and propulsion systems used on Prometheus 1 could be used to send 00:04:27
probes to other far-off places. 00:04:33
These systems will even be used to support human missions to explore the solar system 00:04:36
and beyond. 00:04:40
Back to you, Jennifer. 00:04:41
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Idioma/s:
en
Materias:
Matemáticas
Niveles educativos:
▼ Mostrar / ocultar niveles
      • Nivel Intermedio
Autor/es:
NASA LaRC Office of Education
Subido por:
EducaMadrid
Licencia:
Reconocimiento - No comercial - Sin obra derivada
Visualizaciones:
752
Fecha:
28 de mayo de 2007 - 16:54
Visibilidad:
Público
Enlace Relacionado:
NASAs center for distance learning
Duración:
04′ 43″
Relación de aspecto:
4:3 Hasta 2009 fue el estándar utilizado en la televisión PAL; muchas pantallas de ordenador y televisores usan este estándar, erróneamente llamado cuadrado, cuando en la realidad es rectangular o wide.
Resolución:
480x360 píxeles
Tamaño:
28.38 MBytes

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