Nuclear Power : A New Energy Source Essay

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

Nuclear energy is the world's largest source of emission-free energy. Nuclear power plants produce no controlled air pollutants, such as sulfur and particulates, or greenhouse gases. "Renewables" like solar, wind and biomass can help. But only nuclear power offers clean, environmentally friendly energy on a massive scale. The use of nuclear energy in place of other energy sources helps to keep the air clean, preserve the Earth's climate, avoid ground-level ozone formation and prevent acid rain. “Currently, there are 103 commercial nuclear power plants producing electricity in the United States, located at 64 sites in 31 states. They are, on average, 24 years old, and

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

Presently, nuclear fusion and nuclear fission are being studied, and even used in some countries as a power generator. The enormous energy produced by nuclear fission and fusion could light up a big city for a hundred years or more and we do not have to worry about it polluting our environment because nuclear energy is a green energy. Moreover, in a long term, the cost to generate power using nuclear is far less than the cost of generating power using fossil fuel.

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 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.

Nuclear energy has been a big issue since 1956 to choose whether or not this large, costly amounts of energy should be used. In the begin of the 1960’s, nuclear energy has gone through multiple changes of its use. Nuclear power was originally used during the Manhattan Project in the development of the atomic bomb. In United States there conferences held to understand what  to do with this, the outcome was, “The MAUD Committee had two summary reports in July 1941. One was on 'Use of Uranium for a Bomb' and the other was on 'Use of Uranium as a Source of Power'. The first report concluded that a bomb was feasible and that one containing some 12 kg of active material would be equivalent to 1,800 tons of TNT and would release large quantities of

Initially nuclear fission was designed for producing atomic bombs but later it was shifted to produce energy around the world (Nuclear Fission: Discovery and Technological Development). As of April 2015 the United States is the largest producer of nuclear energy in the world, about 30% of the worldwide nuclear generated energy, compared to Africa which represents the smallest user of nuclear energy, 0.5% (Figure 1). In the US, the nuclear energy represents over 19% of the total energy consumed. (Nuclear Power in USA,

Today, 30 countries worldwide are operating 438 nuclear reactors to generate energy, 67 new nuclear plants are under construction in 15 countries and 13 countries rely on nuclear energy to supply at least one-quarter of their total electricity. We can find France, Slovakia and Hungary lying on the top list of nuclear energy producing countries and a total of 10.9 % of the world’s energy being generated by these means. This sustains the evidence of a new energetic revolution that is expanding faster than ever before.

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.

The use of nuclear energy is a big topic for debate. Many countries have fully embraced it while others, such as the U. S., haven’t. Nuclear energy is feared for its danger and scorned because of its wastes. On the other hand, nuclear energy does have some pros like cheaper cost of energy and environmentally safe. Reactor breeders show great promise in nuclear waste, but are it enough to convince the nation?

As the need of electricity rises to sustain more and more electrical devices and support America’s constantly growing population, there becomes a need for more efficient ways of producing the energy needed to accommodate these demands. There are plenty of renewable resources such as wind, water, and the sun, but these sources have yet shown any practical use in America’s need for massive amounts of energy (Schulz). One solution to America’s needs may be to look more deeply into nuclear power. Nuclear power plants split uranium and plutonium atoms, a process known as fission, to produce high amounts of heat within a reactor, turning water into steam used to power generators (Introduction to Nuclear Energy). Twenty percent of America's