Why do nuclear power plants produce so much energy?

Question

If nuclear power plants boil water to turn a turbine to make energy then why do they make more energy than a coal power plant that does the same?

In: 28

Answer 1

Turning a turbine by hand wouldn’t create much energy because you aren’t putting much energy *into* the system to begin with.

Using a big bonfire to boil water to turn a turbine would create a bit more energy because it’s turning the turbine more quickly. The problem is that you’d need a *gigantic* fire to get the amount of energy you need to do anything at a large scale, and you’d have to keep feeding it constantly.

Nuclear power turns the turbine *really* quickly, and uses a small fuel source that “burns” for a really really long time.