Nuclear Energy
By: Colton Miller
The way that nuclear energy is able to produce power is that since atoms make up everything and the denser the nucleus of an atom is the stronger the atom is. The energy that is inside of the nucleus is Nuclear Energy. So when we use a process to split the atoms, the energy within those atoms is released. This produces more energy than our more commonly used fossil fuels because it's nucleus is denser so when it is split the energy is much greater. Although since these atoms are so strong it could easily become unstable and dangerous, but as long as they are stored safely and properly maintained the source of energy is not as dangerous as it may seem. The use of nuclear energy in countries is fast increasing.
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So you can build a nuclear power plant anywhere on earth and it will not affect or alter the plant and animal life around them. This is because they use nuclear reactions to split atoms that heats up water to a steam and the water is reused and nothing is being put into the environment around them.
Although nuclear energy has many upsides, there is one most commonly worried about problem with these facilities, the danger of radiation. Radiation poisoning can severely handicap people, animals, plants, and with bad exposure to high radiation it can cause death. A good example of the dangers of nuclear energy is Chernobyl. This was a place in the Ukraine where there was a steam explosion which in turn lead to a fire in the nuclear reactor. This produced a cloud of deadly radioactive gas which is a called a plume. This plume can get into waterways, get in the rain cycle, and be taken by weather all over the
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Fission, which is the way all plants make nuclear energy, is the process of break apart the atoms causing a burst of energy. Now scientist are researching manners of fusion which is the bonding of the atoms instead of breaking them apart. The only worry and fault in doing so is that they worry that the bonding might be either to uncontrollable and or be unstable. There are more ways of how the people who run the nuclear energy operations gain more control and make the process safer for everybody. One of those being the poison rods, these "poison" rods are made of a noble gas like xenon. The xenon rods absorb some of the energy produced and they can regulate how much energy the plant produces by either removing or adding more poison rods. The more rods the less electricity is produced and if you add rods less electricity is produced by the plant.
From 1978 to 2009 the united states tried to construct a enormous nuclear energy producing facility in nevada. This was met with controversy and protesters because they were worried that the plant would leak radioactive material into the underground water supply for the famous Las Vegas which would poison thousands of tourist and citizens. Even though it is safe and produces no pollution of any sort the United States is still nervous about using nuclear energy because of the radioactive
Nuclear energy is the energy that is released during nuclear fission or fusion also called a nuclear reaction. It is used to generate electricity energy is produced when a nucleus absorbs a neutron and splits into two lighter nuclei. The atoms consist of an electron cloud and a nucleus. (nuclearinfo.net)
When used as an energy source fusion has some advantages over fission, like the light nuclei use in the process of fusion are plentiful, and easily obtained. Also the end products of fission are light, stable nuclei, while the end products of fission are normally heavy and highly radioactive. There are two categories that nuclear energy is researched for, military and medical. The main result of military research is the nuclear bomb; there are two types of nuclear bomb the atomic, and hydrogen bomb. The atomic bomb involves fission, and the hydrogen bomb involves fusion. Some of the results of the medical research are nuclear medicine. Nuclear medicine involves using small pieces of radioactive material to diagnose and treat various diseases. Some diseases that it treats are many types of cancer, heart disease, and various other abnormalities within the body. Nuclear in this time and age is also the perfect replacement for fossil fuels. The only problem with nuclear energy is even thou it creates massive amounts of energy it still relies on uranium and platinum which even thou plentiful it is still in limited supply. Nuclear power is a great short term replacement for fossil fuel but in the end the world needs to find a way to make renewable energy just as cost effective as nuclear energy. But there are people that are scared at the fact of expanding our reliance on nuclear energy because they think it’s too dangerous. But in the history of civil nuclear
Storing nuclear waste is a political problem as no one wants it stored near them, so there is a dispute about where radioactive waste should be stored. But after all the advantages of using nuclear energy outweigh its disadvantages as nuclear plants emit less than one-hundredth of carbon dioxide gas compared to coal or gas-fired energy plants so there is a very little effect on the environment. Humans living next to coal-fired power plants are exposed to higher radiation doses than those living near nuclear plants, where the former is harmful to human health and may be responsible for acid rain. On the other hand dependence on nuclear energy is now increasing in most countries as nuclear reactors use uranium as a fuel which is found everywhere on earth. It is inexpensive and easier to transport than other fuels which makes them less dependent on oil and foreign fuel from other countries.
A large contributor to those arguments are the environmental effects. The plants require a large amount of uranium, which have to be mined from other countries, stripping them of one of their natural resources. As far as the water collecting goes, the filters only prevent large fish from being sucked up. Many tiny animals such as plankton are sucked up with the water. Larger wildlife such as seals and sea turtles can become entrapped in the filters and drown. The plants also produce nuclear waste, which takes up a ton of land and water space to store. And to top it off, the area where the power plant is can’t be used again. Economically, there are also many issues. It is very costly to build a nuclear power plant, and the cost to maintain and run one is extremely high, due to all the security, workers and technology needed. The nuclear waste that comes out of the plants is very expensive, due to the length of time it needs to be stored, and all the materials required to store it. Ethically, it also has many risks. Although safety is large priority, workers still die from being exposed to radiation. Also the radioactive water can go into the ground, contaminating the ground and water sources around it. These arguments are just the very basics of all the reasons why a nuclear power plant shouldn’t be built.
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.
Nuclear power plants work by turning water into steam. This steam then turns the turbine generators which produce the electricity. This works much like a fossil fuel way of
Nuclear power plants can put out large amounts of energy consistently. These plants create energy by splitting the uranium atoms into smaller particles. The splitting of one of these atoms can create an estimated 10 million times more energy than burning one coal atom(Maehlum). This means smaller amounts of fuel are necessary to constantly
What is Nuclear power, and how does it work? Nuclear power is contained in atoms, this energy can be produced as heat from a chain reaction in a radioactive element called Uranium. It works by being controlled by control rods so the radiative power is creating heat that we use as energy.
A nuclear power plant is a thermal power station that has a nuclear reactor as the main heat source. The power plant generates electricity by producing steam that runs through a turbine that is then connected to a generator which produces the electricity. Nuclear power plants are controversial because of the always looming question of “Do the benefits outway the risks?” For example, there is no carbon dioxide released into the air by the nuclear power plants but, the nuclear waste can be around for 200-500 thousand years seeping nuclear radiation into the area around it. There are many debates about whether or not nuclear power plants are good or bad for the United States,
History has shown that nuclear power plants are very delicate plant in which a small mistake by the
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.
From an environmental standpoint nuclear power plants are extremely clean when it comes to electrical power generation. However, there are a lot of ways where nuclear power plants can go wrong. Improperly functioning a nuclear power plant can create problematic situations. Take the Chernobyl disaster for instance, because of their poorly designed nuclear power plant it released tons of radioactivity which scattered across the atmosphere. This resulted in everyone leaving the city. Another recent incident was in Fukushima (Japan), a tsunami hit the nuclear power plants which caused the tins to break and release radioactivity as well. Still to this day there is radioactive dust scattered all over the ground. Moreover, mining and purifying uranium
The use of nuclear power and nuclear weapons is forcing humankind, and indeed the whole ecosystem, to participate in a particularly cruel and totally uncontrolled experiment. The United States can not afford continuing to raid the environment with long-lived radioactive materials that are scattered to the wind and embedded in our soil, exposing large populations, and foisting health impacts - such as: “high instances of infant mortality and more than six thousand cases of thyroid cancer in children and adolescents according to a 2008 UN report” - (6) on unsuspecting future generations who have no choice in this matter. With this in mind, nuclear energy also puts out more carbon dioxide, puts out more air pollutants, enhances mortality more and takes longer to put up than real renewable energy systems, namely wind, solar, geothermal power, hydro-tidal wave power and, the radiation exposure will force animals and insects out of their homes, or possibly kill them as to what happened in Chernobyl. Moreover, nuclear power enhances nuclear weapons proliferation. (Ted Talk) Due to the fact, that the people haven’t yet came up a solution to where to store spent energy. Moreover, short- and long-term storage of spent nuclear fuel has been a challenge for the industry and policymakers. Spent fuel, if not disposed of properly, could contaminate water supplies or be used by terrorists to create a dirty bomb. This
In today's society, nuclear chemistry has slowly been introduced and taking over. Over the years these nuclear power plants have been popping up in backyards and towns. Nuclear energy is even being considered as an alternate source of energy that is to be beneficial to our environment. More people are using nuclear power and it can be seen in a long range of our medical technology. This however, is not a good thing for the future of society. While nuclear energy does present some benefits to society, overall it causes too much damage to the environment and therefore individuals.to begin with, nuclear chemistry produces too much environmental waste which causes a lot of damage to the environment. For nuclear energy, the main source that fuels
Citizens of countries where fossil fuels are being utilized are concerned at the possible chance of global warming. So many greenhouse gases emitted, ice burgs and caps are shifting or melting, that population is beginning to worry about what is going to happen to the environment in the future if this source is kept being used. With nuclear energy we don’t have to worry about the environmental changes. Nuclear energy has