Mexico's Nuclear Energy Revolution

Transition: Now that we know how nuclear energy is produced, let’s talk about some ways it is utilized in modern society.

When someone thinks of problems plaguing the world, nuclear energy is not the first thing that comes to peoples minds these days.[1]Nuclear power was once deemed the new energy of the future.[2]However, numerous nuclear power plant accidents around the world put a damper on that notion.The United States considers itself one of the most technologically advanced countries in the world, but 103 nuclear reactors currently operating within her borders, one was bound to fail sometime or another.[3]

The United States needs a change in its energy sources. Oil, first of all, is a scarce resource that will eventually run out, and it also makes the U.S. depend on the political situation in other countries, as can be seen at the frequent changes in oil prices due to the political situation in the Middle-East. Alternative energy sources are an important issue to consider and nuclear energy is certainly the most controversial. There are currently 104 nuclear power plants operating in the United States, but the licenses of those plants will expire in foreseeable future, the first one already in 2013 and the last one in 2046 (Nuclear Energy Inst.). Those expiration dates initiate the discussions if the licenses should be renewed for the plants

For years, many scientists, environmentalists, and energy experts have been studying how human’s creation and use of energy has impacted our environment. These experts have discovered some troubling facts. Most of our country’s energy is created from burning fossil fuels that pollute our atmosphere, contribute to global warming, and thus threaten the future of our planet. But there’s a safe and effective solution to this problem: nuclear power. Nuclear power should be used more in the United States to create clean power that doesn’t pollute our environment, in order to help combat climate change.

In 1932 Ernest Rutherford found out that when you split lithium atoms by protons energy would be released. Other physics Niels Bohr and Albert Einstein thought that having power like that for something practical was unlikely to even happen in the future Ernest would name it “moonshine”.James Chadwick would discover the neutron the same year and it was recognized as a tool for experimentation because it had a very little charge to it. In 1939 many scientist had told their governments to support the nuclear fission research so they can develop nuclear weapons. In the United States the first reactor was made at the University of Chicago they named it the Chicago Pile-1 it had became part of the Manhattan Project that would make uranium and store plutonium that would be used as the first nuclear weapon that would be dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. In 1945 it was said that atomic power would be used in everyday life instead of filling your car with gas three times a week our cars could run on a pallet of energy and we would be able to drive for a full year and this pallet would only be the size of a pill. In 1953 president Eisenhower would give his “Atoms for Peace” speech saying we should make peaceful nuclear power even though the first nuclear powered submarine would be

Throughout history, the source of energy that powers the world has advanced alongside technology. The power on which civilization thrives has to be in accordance to the demand at which it is required. As technology evolves, objects from which energy can be extracted can expanded exponentially. In the status quo, the United States is trying to limit the greenhouse gas emissions instead of just switching power sources which is the wrong direction they should be going in. [Thesis] Instead of wasting their time and money investing in burning coal as their main source of power, countries and their governments need to assist in the transition to a more cost effective and efficient form of energy in the form of nuclear energy.

Nuclear energy was likewise discovered to be useful in naval tactics and in sourcing electricity. As technology has significantly advanced and knowledge has expanded beyond measures, the realm of nuclear engineering has indeed achieved scientific milestones. In practice of modern times, nuclear energy is manufactured within power plants, capable of supporting an outstanding amount of electricity (World Nuclear Association). However, this limited method of energy production is thought to be dangerous. Nuclear engineering is certainly one complex subject and is foreign to the majority of the world population. Within a nuclear power plant, reactors are employed to force uranium ions to undergo the process of nuclear fission; nuclear fission is the separation of atoms, the smallest unit of matter. This splitting of uranium ions releases energy, thus, producing usable heat. Heat is crucial to not only nuclear energy production; rather, heat is necessary in all power plants. Such will then become the steam that gyrates turbines. These turbines are coupled with electromagnets which, finally, yield electricity (How Nuclear Reactors Work). One foremost flaw of nuclear power is the consequential radioactive waste that must be monitored for a long while following disposal. Nevertheless, as resources upon this planet are surely depleting, original forms of energy production are mandatory. In consideration of such, nuclear power plants have proved to be both efficient

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

Fossil fuels make up about 85% of the United States fuel (The Hidden Cost of Fossil Fuels) and 80% of the entire world’s fuel (City of Whitehorse). At the rate in which humans are growing as a population, the rate at which we use fossil fuels is increasing in steady numbers. Fossil fuels are an unsustainable, and therefore they are unreliable. If the population will continue to grow, they must find a new energy source before the ones they use today become depleted. Since 1945 (Outline History of Nuclear Energy), humans have been closely focusing on the development of harnessing nuclear power. Nuclear power that exists today is known as nuclear fission, which involves the science of harnessing the energy when an atom is split. Presently, researchers are looking into a new form of nuclear power that is called nuclear fusion. This type of nuclear power involves forcing atoms to combine and capturing the energy released. Both forms of nuclear power are by far more sustainable than fossil fuels and produce less waste which is harmful to humans and the

The fossil fuels that are used to supply over half of our country’s energy are in finite supply and are increasing in price to astronomical heights. If we hope to continue consuming energy on the scale that we currently do, we need to find a better way to produce it. Fortunately, the best contender is an energy generation form that the United States is already familiar with, albeit equally as uncomfortable with. Currently, nuclear power makes up 19% of our country’s power generation, and with community and government support, the industry could spread its wings further to help relieve the dependence we have on burning fossil fuels [3]. Many people have misconceived many ideas about nuclear power, believing that it is expensive, unsafe by its very nature, and a threat to a

Chile would like to use nuclear energy in cleans and peaceful ways. The most important nuclear organization in Chile is the CCHEN Chile, which is responsible for the peaceful uses of nuclear energy. The CCHEN has two nuclear reactors for research in Chile, Center for Nuclear Studies at Aguirre and The Queen. The first peaceful uses of nuclear power in Chile appear for the first time in 1964 with the project that made Dr. Cruz-Coke.

Nuclear power was the world’s fastest growing form of energy in the 1990’s. However, presently it is the second slowest growing worldwide. Considering that nuclear power accounts for eleven percent of the world’s energy supply, one must ask what happened [Nuclear Power]. Why is it that the growth of nuclear power has almost completely stalled? The simple answer is that after meltdowns such as Three Mile Island and Chernobyl, many people are afraid of nuclear power plants, which causes great opposition to the expansion of the industry. Unfortunately, most people are not well informed about nuclear energy; many do not take the time to view its positives and negatives.

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.

The world's natural resources are being consumed at an alarming rate. As these resources diminish, people will be seeking alternative sources by which to generate electricity for heat and light. The only practical short-term solution for the energy/pollution crisis should be nuclear power because it is available, cleaner and safer.

Getting energy from nuclear reactions is a well-established science, tracing back to the discovery of radioactive elements, and eventually to harnessing the energy within those reactions for human needs. The basis of nuclear power is the use of nuclear fission to generate heat, which changes water into steam, and powers a turbine. Nuclear fission is related to radioactive decay, which was discovered in the late 1800s by Henri Becquerel and furthered by Marie and Pierre Curie. Nuclear fission itself was the work of Enrico Fermi – a physicist from Italy. Fermi would later help create the first self-sustaining chain reaction on the grounds of the University of Chicago in 1942. The understanding of nuclear fission and the ability to create chain reactions would lead to the Manhattan Project, culminating in the dropping of two nuclear bombs over Japan at the end of World War II. The technology would later be adapted into more peaceful purposes such as generating energy. Nuclear fission works by bombarding the radioactive element – usually uranium, but sometimes plutonium – with neutrons. When the neutron hits the element, it will split into two lighter atoms, releasing more neutrons, and energy. Those