How it works
Uranium nuclei split and release heat. The heat warms water, the steam spins a turbine and a generator produces electricity. The theory of steam turbines owes a great deal to the Slovak Aurel Stodola.
Accidents
Chernobyl (1986) and Fukushima (2011) showed how serious the consequences are when something goes wrong. In Slovakia, the first Bohunice reactor, A1, suffered a serious accident in 1977 and was never restarted.
The future
Nuclear power stations do not emit CO₂ while they are running, but they are expensive and take a long time to build. Small modular reactors (SMR) are being developed. In Slovakia the third unit at Mochovce was started up in 2023.