Nuclear energy is one of the most popular, most efficient, and most controversial energy sources in the world. Countries such as Russia, South Korea, the United States, Germany, France, and China all in the nuclear power game, it is sure to become an even bigger source of energy than it is already. In America, nuclear energy produces close to 20 percent of the nation’s electricity, according to the Nuclear Energy Institute. Due to nuclear energy’s many positives, it is easy to overlook the possible consequences. But before you can look at the positives, or negatives, of nuclear energy, you must first understand how it works.
Nuclear power is similar to power that is created by wind, solar, and coal plants. There are two types of nuclear
…show more content…
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.
Radiation is made up of subatomic particles that travel at 186,000 miles per second. Radiation can reach deep down inside the human body and create cancer. Radiation is a natural occurrence in our environment, and we are hit about 15,000 particles at all times. The chance of a particle of radiation penetrating your body is about one in 30 million billion, according to the Nuclear Energy Institute. A material is called radioactive when it actively emits radiation. There is no possible way for our body to tell if radiation comes from a natural source or not. The risk of getting a genetic disease from doses of radiation is lower than that of developing cancer from radiation. The risk of contracting cancer from radiation is about 0.002 percent. Levels of
Summary: In this paper I will discuss the overall of nuclear energy to rectify some misconception. I will give the advantages and disadvantages for using nuclear energy and let the readers understand the basic idea of it.
The use of fossil fuels as a primary source of power is poisoning our world, and nuclear power is just the way to stop this. Nuclear power is using the process of nuclear fission to create electricity. Nuclear fission is the splitting of a uranium atom to release massive amounts of energy. When this process takes place in a nuclear reactor, the energy is used to superheat water which is pumped through pipes also submerged in water which then boils. The pressurized water vapor is used to turn turbines that produce electricity. Nuclear power is one of the cleanest, safest, most reliable and economically beneficial sources of power, and it needs to be considered as a substitute for fossil fuels. Nuclear power unfortunately has been given a bad name, but is actually an important resource that should be utilized by the U.S. and the rest of the world.
Nuclear energy powers just about 20% of the United States. The United States holds only 100 of the reactors out of the 400 that are in the world. Even though a reactor does not put any pollutants in the air it still creates nuclear waste. Nuclear fission use uranium and plutonium and turn them into smaller atoms. When splitting atoms you have to hit it with a neutron. When split several atoms can be split like a chain reaction.
Fission occurs when a free neutron enters the nucleus of the fissile atom. The nucleus quickly becomes unsatble, vibrates and then splits into fragments that are propelled apart at high speed. These neutrons go on to hit other uranium atoms , and the process is repeated, thus giving rise to a chain reaction (figure 1).
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
As we know, greenhouse gases have been one of the major causes for climate change. According to the US Environmental Protection Agency, the primary source of greenhouse gas emission is from electricity production which is mostly generated by burning fossil fuels. Over several decades, mankind has spent countless amount of resources, trying to find a suitable energy substitute for fossil fuels in order to stabilize climate change. Unsurprisingly, due to its powerful nature, nuclear energy has been one of the most popular and developed technology around the world. In this paper, I am going to discuss the fundamental flaws in nuclear energy, and the potential danger it could bring to not only the mankind today, but also tomorrow. In addition,
Nuclear power plants do not emit the harmful green house gases and other negative by-products associated with the more conventional systems fuelled by coal and natural gas. Nuclear power plants use nuclear reactions to drive their generators. The reactions produce extreme amounts of heat that must be managed. Most
For example, France has 80% of their entire energy production powered by Nuclear power. Nuclear power also powers 20% of America, if it can power that much, it could power the whole U.S.A. Nuclear energy is also a good choice because, it can run in any weather, even in droughts, night time, and when it is not windy, unlike wind, hydro, and solar power, as said in www.conserve-energy-future.com.
Nuclear power and solar power are both widely used forms of power generation, and they have been influential in power generation around the world. Nuclear and solar power share many differences and similarities.
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.
The disastrous meltdowns that cause whole cities to become uninhabitable, as well as leaving families homeless and laborers without jobs, have defined the negative perspective of what people see in nuclear power. However, even after such catastrophes, the pure raw energy output makes nuclear power essential for the future of the human race. As time passes, the world’s energy usage has grown an increasingly massive size every year due to the consumption swell of energy. Despite nuclear plants being a heavily controversial topic internationally, its advantages are very well recognized and it’s causing nuclear plants to slowly become the basis of our growing society.
Central Idea: Nuclear energy only contributes a small amount to the world’s electricity yet it has hazards and dangers that far out-way its benefits. There are many other alternative power producing sources that can produce energy more efficiently and more safely than nuclear power plants can.
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.
creation of nuclear energy stems from nuclear fission, the splitting of an atom into two, and
Global demand and consumption of energy is at an all time high; the world needs a safe, efficient, clean, and high producing source of energy production. The solution is something we already use for energy production, Nuclear power. From the beginning of nuclear energy there has been concerns over the safety of the power plants and its impact on the environment. With climate change and more accurate information on nuclear power the tide is shifting in its favor. This paper will explore the positives of nuclear power, political change on nuclear power, safety of the energy source and new technologies associated with the nuclear power process. Most importantly are the risks associated with nuclear power worth it? Research suggests that nuclear power is safer now more than ever and has less of an impact on the environment than coal or oil. Public support and misconceptions over the years have been up and down due to political agendas and those who are misinformed about nuclear power. Individuals who are involved in the energy field are in favor of nuclear power and building more plants with newer technology.