The two standard methods that are involved in nuclear energy are:
- Fission: this process involves hitting an atom with a neutron, in order to break the atom in two smaller atoms, releasing energy during the atom split process.
- Fusion: this process involve combining two smaller atoms into a heavier atom. This process releases a great amount of energy (usually more than the fission process), without generating as many subproducts that may be radioactive as the fission.