Evaluation of Nuclear Power in the Future Nuclear power is one of the most controversial forms of energy in the modern world; the destructive power of nuclear armaments has led to a worldwide fear of nuclear energy in all of its forms. But as scientific communities continue to learn more about nuclear power, as well as ways to make it more practical in the competitive energy market, it may soon see an increase in use in the United States. This necessitates the consideration of possible improvements to nuclear power plants that would warrant an increase in their use. If the United States is to invest its money and time into nuclear power, it must first evaluate the potential improvements to plant efficiency, maintenance, and other factors, …show more content…
al.). This combination of fuel reprocessing and reactors that can burn said fuel would allow more power to be extracted from the name quantity of uranium. Meanwhile, other scientists are developing methods to increase plant efficiency without changing the fuel. Jacopo Buongiorno, nuclear science and engineering director at MIT, has developed a method of permeating water with “tiny particles of oxides and metals only billionths of a meter in diameter,” or nanoparticles, creating a substance known as “nano-spiked water,” which can “remove up to two times more heat than ordinary water” (Halber). Nuclear reactors generate electricity by utilizing the energy produced from “burning” uranium to evaporate water into steam, which is then used to turn a turbine. Nano-spiked water can absorb substantially more heat from the fused uranium, meaning less of the energy produced in the form of heat is lost and more energy will be produced with the same quantity of fuel. However, both of these methods have limitations, and are not immediately implementable. Although “pyrometallurgical recycling technology [. . .] has been successfully demonstrated on a pilot level in operating power plants, both in the U.S. and in Russia,” it is not yet commercially usable, while
The United States should use nuclear energy to help supplement energy demand because it’s cost-effective, safer for the environment, and a more reliable source of energy than any of the other types of fuel. Some of the topics of interest are cost-effectiveness, recycling options, long term storage options, environmental protection technologies currently being used, and a breakdown of how nuclear energy out performs other sources of power year round.
In the recent years, nuclear energy has gotten a comprehensive development. There are over 430 commercial nuclear power reactors operable in 31 countries, with over 370,000 MWe of total capacity. About 70 more reactors are under construction, and these numbers are still rising up (World Nuclear
Nuclear power plants are a safe, clean and reliable source of energy production. They are uniquely qualified to meet the growing demand for energy in the USA.
On Wednesday, March 28, 1979, around 4 a.m., there was a failure in the water pumps at the Three Mile Island in Middletown, Pennsylvania. This led to a partial meltdown of a nuclear power plant. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Department of Health, Education and Welfare (now Health and Human Services), the Department of Energy, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania all conducted particular studies of the radiological consequences of the accident. Approximately two million people were estimated to have received an average of one millirem of radiation, and there was a maximum dose to a person who was at the site of 100 millirem (“Backgrounder”). To put this into perspective, an exposure from a single chest X-ray is two to six millirem (“Doses”). However, this put fear into the minds of politicians and others all across the country. What the people do not know, though, is nuclear is better. Instead of using fossil-fuels and wind power, America ought to switch to nuclear energy to power the country because it is safer, cleaner, less expensive, and more reliable than the current ways of producing energy
After the World War 2 comes to an end, the US government formed together the Atomic Energy Commission to encourage the exploration of more peaceful alternative usage of nuclear materials instead of focusing on creation of weapons of mass destruction. Now almost several decades later, there has been one hundred and four nuclear reactors and counting built throughout the states that are harnessing a great amount of energy to meet the demand of one-fifth
The need for electricity continues to grow each year worldwide. Americans have long sought out an environmentally friendly, safe way of fulfilling their needs for energy. Presently, as concerns for the environment continue to become more prominent in the U.S., the demand for cleaner energy producing practices also becomes more pronounced. One of the cleanest production methods in use today is nuclear power generation (Kidd).
(19) Nuclear fuel is one of the most efficient means of extracting energy from a fuel source. Nuclear energy comes in two different forms, fusion and fission. Einstein came up with the famous equation E = mc^2 to satisfy these two processes. Fusion is the joining of two smaller nuclei to form a larger nucleus. Fission is when a large nucleus is stuck by one neutron which causes it to split into two smaller nuclei and release three neutrons. Nuclear power plants use fission to generate energy. When you have a large amount of Uranium - 235 the neutrons repeatedly hit another isotope, causing a chain reaction to occur. Therefore, the uranium in the plant has to have enough U-235, otherwise known as enriched uranium, for this to function properly. The enrichment is reached by using an isotope
The necessity for a new type of energy increases with every year. Energy consumption rates are increasing continuously, and with them, pollution and wastes directly harming the Earth and her atmosphere. While other energy competitors constantly fell short of impacting fossil fuels enough to significantly lower their usage rates, nuclear energy can not only compete against the highly efficient yet harmful fossil fuels but can reign as king as a more efficient and cleaner source of energy.
As the demands for energy increases, the United States needs to determine how it is going to meet the need. A range of options is needed for future generations and nuclear power is one suitable option. As with any option, it comes with its strengths and weaknesses. Presently, sixty-six percent of the United States energy comes from fossil fuel, while only nineteen percent comes from nuclear power; however, fickle oil prices are a sign that the era of abundant and cheap transportation fuel is ending. As the global necessity for electricity rises, the United States needs to turn to nuclear power as their solution.
Nuclear power plants can be very beneficial to people. One reason why they are helpful is because it will bring more jobs to southern Indiana. Another reason why they are beneficial to our community is that it will decrease the Co2 emissions in the air. The third reason that Nuclear power can be beneficial is that it will it will save many lives for various reasons. This is why Nuclear Power can be beneficial.
Nuclear power has been one of the largest contributors of energy for the past fifty years. With the end of World War II, research into nuclear energies shifted away from war applications to simply using it to power the world. Nuclear power was regarded as the never ending energy source that would bring an end to energy problems and power the whole world. For many years it seemed to work with no problems; however, that was a short lived reality. As problems with nuclear energy came to light, many believed it was a better investment for the future to research and develop new energy sources or just continue using fossil fuels. Many believe the risks and downsides of nuclear power outweigh the benefits. However, there are still many advocates of nuclear power that believe it is the best energy source for the world for reasons such as its large production of energy, their belief that it is not a major harm to the environment, and their belief that it is better than the other energy alternatives. However, in spite of these beliefs and facts, research into nuclear power opposes the belief that nuclear power should be the main contributor of power because they are expensive to build and can result in a catastrophic situations.
There are many advancements being made to make nuclear power not only safer for use and the environment, but also to make it more efficient. There is still a lot of work to be done to accomplish these goals set forth by the Nuclear Generation 4 project, but the future seems to be very promising. Only so much work can be done during a phase of research and development. It will take global cooperation to continue to move forward and be able to conclude the research and start a new phase of test sites. With the worldwide demand to find more efficient and sustainable energy sources for the future, nuclear power should remain a front runner for available
Have you ever wondered what affects Nuclear Power can have? There is also many bad things that come from Nuclear power, like cancer and other illnesses.There are many Power plants under construction, and are there more on the way. Nuclear power is really clean, and very simple.
Much of the public is weary of nuclear energy because of past events, though they know very little about how it works or the safety measures that accompany it. A large power plant and the knowledge that one just like it melted down causing mass panic across the globe is enough to put any person on edge. Instead of scrapping the idea of nuclear power all together, researchers have come up with safer and smaller reactors that should be able to calm the public’s worries. Nuclear power has too many benefits to give up on the idea fully. Large nuclear plants are where many of the fears about nuclear energy have stemmed; new advancements and technologies, however, have emerged that could quell many of the concerns of the public. Small modular reactors
As each year passes, more and more electricity will be made as a result of increased nuclear power plants around the world. The economic benefits of nuclear energy are equally advantageous as the environmental aspects.