Nuclear Potpourri

Nuclear power is something of a “Goldilocks” of energy sources: Reactors produce virtually no carbon emissions under normal operations, but nuclear power plants can scale large enough to run entire cities. And while the core concept behind nuclear power—that when uranium atoms split apart, each radioactive decay releases a bit of energy—involves subatomic physics, converting that nuclear energy to useful work is a job for mechanical engineers. See what you know about nuclear power by taking our Big Quiz.