Publisher Summary This chapter focuses on atomic energy. A nuclear power plant is very much like a conventional steam power plant. The only difference is that the heat, used to heat the steam that runs the steam turbines and the electric generator, is not obtained by burning coal, gas, or oil, but is derived from controlled nuclear reactions. During this process of decomposition, the substances give off rays of small particles of high velocity, and gamma rays that are a form of penetrating invisible light rays. After a long period of time, the final, stable product of this decomposition is lead. The subatomic particles composing an element are held together by a very large binding energy. Once an element is split up into pieces, some of this energy is released. Modern reactors use uranium pellets that are enriched to contain more U-235 as fuel. The enrichment is done in special gaseous diffusion plants. Operation of these gaseous diffusion plants, for uranium enrichment, requires a considerable amount of energy. The operation of a nuclear reactor is provided by an array of cruciform control rods that can be moved in and out of the reactor core between the fuel rods. The control rods contain neutron-absorbing elements, such as boron.