What is "nuclear fuel"

n. fuel (such as uranium) that can be used in nuclear reactors as a source of electricity

'''Nuclear fuel '''is a substance that is used in nuclear power stations to produce heat to power turbines. Heat is created when nuclear fuel undergoes nuclear fission

Most nuclear fuels contain heavy fissile elements that are capable of nuclear fission, such as uranium-235 or plutonium-239. When the unstable nuclei of these atoms are hit by a slow-moving neutron, they split, creating two daughter nuclei and two or three more neutrons. These neutrons then go on to split more nuclei. This creates a self-sustaining chain reaction that is controlled in a nuclear reactor, or uncontrolled in a nuclear weapon.

The processes involved in mining, refining, purifying, using, and disposing of nuclear fuel are collectively known as the nuclear fuel cycle.

Not all types of nuclear fuels create power from nuclear fission; plutonium-238 and some other elements are used to produce small amounts of nuclear power by radioactive decay in radioisotope thermoelectric generators and other types of atomic batteries.

Nuclear fuel has the highest energy density of all practical fuel sources.