Nuclear Energy Is The Energy

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

1b/process. “How do we harvest this lost energy,” you might be wondering? Well, nuclear energy receives its power from the fission, or splitting, of atoms in very dense radioactive metals. Once one atom is split, the halves separate into 2 or more less dense atoms, and remaining neutrons can be shot out at high velocities. If these neutrons slam into another atom and are captured by it, that atom has a chance that it too will undergo fission. This cycle of splitting atoms is a chain reaction. Nuclear fission requires power to start the chain reaction, and it needs a certain amount of Uranium, called a critical mass, before this chain reaction can support itself and create excess energy. This excess energy is released as heat, usually into water. This changes the water into steam and is used to turn turbines to produce electricity. According to an article written by the U.S. Dept. of Energy, the first successful attempt at a self-sustaining nuclear reactor was on December 2nd, 1942.

Background Information. In the past 10 years the usage of nuclear energy has become one of the most polarizing issues of the world. Especially in the Middle East when a country reveals information about its nuclear program, the west considers this country as a threat and tries all possible ways to stop this program.

¬Nuclear energy is energy in the nucleus (core) of an atom. Atoms are tiny particles that make up every object in the universe. There is enormous energy in the bonds that hold atoms together. Nuclear energy can be used to make electricity. But first the energy must be released. It can be released from atoms in two ways: nuclear fusion and nuclear fission. In nuclear fusion, energy is released when atoms are combined or fused together to form a larger atom. This is how the sun produces energy. In nuclear fission, atoms are split apart to form smaller atoms, releasing energy. Nuclear power plants use nuclear fission to produce electricity.

According to source G, Nuclear power plants generate about one-fifth of U.S. electricity. While not as much as fossil fuels, nuclear energy is a more efficient way to produce energy in the future. Nuclear power plants require a small amount of fuel so 2 kg of U-235 can produce as much energy as 9000 pounds of coal. Nuclear power comes from a process called a fission reaction which involve heavier nuclei splitting off into lighter nuclei. Another process called a fusion reaction which involves lighter nuclei combining to heavier nuclei is not used because it requires an enormous amount of heat and energy. U-235 or Th-232 are subjected to nuclear fission which release energy. Energy from this process heats the water which in turn powers homes. Energy from this process heats the water which in turns powers

Nuclear energy has many benefits, but do they outweigh the cons? The argument over nuclear energy has continued for many years. Nuclear power does not emit greenhouse gases and produces massive amounts of energy, but does produce gargantuous amounts of radioactive waste. The benefits of nuclear power do not outweigh the cons.

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.

New energy sources are invested in every year to produce heat and electricity for the citizens of the United States. However, nuclear power is becoming a much more urgent discussion topic. Nuclear power, or the use of nuclear fission to generate heat and electricity, contributes to nearly 20% of the electricity generated and used in America. According to the Department of Energy, the United States has invested 60 years of their time into nuclear power! But why have we done so? Well, the production of nuclear energy helps produce reliable, low-carbon energy, and supports national defense activities. Additionally, the Department of Energy also works to advance nuclear power as a resource capable of making magnificent contributions in

The fragments that result from fission are not made up of the same element as the original atom. Fission is almost always a man made process. Nuclear fission is the cause of explosion that occurs in nuclear weapons. Man made fission is created by the collision of two subatomic particles. During a nuclear reaction, a subatomic particle comes into contact with an atomic nucleus, changing it in the process. The most common fission process is binary fission, simply because it is the most probable. Fission with a heavy nucleus needs an input of energy in the range of 7 to 8 million electron volts to overcome the force that holds a nucleus in its spherical shape.

A pellet of nuclear fuel wegights roughly 0.1 ounces, but yet has the same amount of energy as a ton of coal (Lüsted,2013). Such a small portion of nuclear fuel can produce a magnificent impact.. This strong energy alternative must be closely analyzed to predict the future of its ability. There are many functions taken into account that allows a nuclear power plant to operate properly.

Background Information. In the past 10 years the usage of nuclear energy has become one of the most polarizing issues of the world. Especially in the Middle East when a country reveals information about its nuclear program, the west considers this country as a threat and tries all possible ways to stop this program.

While some say nuclear power is risky, the facts prove otherwise. Nuclear energy is often treated as a taboo subject due to misconceptions throughout history by the public, but in actuality, nuclear energy is relatively safe, when practiced correctly. Nuclear energy is a process in which atoms are split, producing heat, which boils water. The steam then turns a turbine to produce electricity. While fission is involved in nuclear bombs, the process in each are both different. The ‘fuel’ used for this process is Uranium-235, an isotope of uranium. Nuclear energy, contrary to popular belief, does not describe the horrible power of nuclear explosive, but the calculated, safe procedure of releasing the fundamental power of the atom. The pros of nuclear energy firmly outweigh the cons of the issue. If the people responsible for the facilities that the energy is produced in follow safety procedures the cons are nearly reduced to nothing. Not only is it a completely green energy source, but the power output is immense, and uranium is such a common material that is used so infrequently means that it will last for an extremely long time.

Nowadays, a growing trend in many countries to use nuclear energy as their mainly source of energy production. Many commentators are holding the opinion that nuclear energy is the greener energy comparing to the fossil fuel, can bring a great number of benefits to our society. However, the nuclear energy cannot be the future energy production, because there are many evidences can against the opinion from those people, showing that the nuclear energy actually bring a large number of drawbacks to people’s life and the world, and cannot be the mainly energy production. In fact, he nuclear energy is not actually ‘green’ energy. It generates so many side effects to people’s lives and environment. It can

Nuclear energy is not the most talked about debate, but one of the most important because of the impact it has on the future of the earth. It has grown to be one of the leading sources of energy in Europe. The U.S. does not use nuclear energy as much, but are looking to add ore nuclear power plants. The way nuclear energy is formed is through a long process that starts by splitting an atom. The first people to do so were the German scientists, Lise Meitner and Otto Hahn. After their study along with other scientists, the first nuclear power plant was made. Though most reasons for nuclear energy are positive, the negative outcomes are costly, resulting in death, debt, and destruction.

The world as we know today is dependent on energy. The options we have currently enable us to produce energy economically but at a cost to the environment. As fossil fuel source will be diminishing over time, other alternatives will be needed. An alternative that is presently utilized is nuclear energy. Nuclear energy is currently the most efficacious energy source. Every time the word ‘nuclear’ is mentioned, the first thought that people have is the devastating effects of nuclear energy. Granting it does come with its drawbacks; this form of energy emits far less pollution than conventional power plants. Even though certain disadvantages of nuclear energy are devastating, the advantages contain even greater rewards.