"Nuclear reactions liberate a large amount of energy compared to chemical reactions. One fission event results in the release of about 200 MeV of energy, or about 3.2 x 10^11 watt-seconds. Thus, 3.1 x 10^10 fissions per second produce 1 W of thermal power. The fission of 1 g of uranium or plutonium per day liberates about 1 MW. This is the energy equivalent of 3 tons of coal or about 600 gallons of fuel oil per day, which when burned produces approximately 1/4 ton of carbon dioxide."