The Importance Of Nuclear Energy

In this day and age where energy is one of the greatest factors in world events, it is unsurprising to see nuclear energy, the bridge between fossil fuels and renewable resources, argued for and against so fiercely. Yet under this umbrella term of “nuclear energy” that people enjoy throwing around, there are two wildly different forms of energy. Things that perhaps shouldn’t be lumped together so haphazardly. Those are Nuclear Fission and Nuclear Fusion.

Nuclear reactors operate on chain reaction, which does not grow due to neutron multiplications of 1. They depend on slow neutrons—in explosion, they are only as powerful as TNT. Though any type of explosion is detrimental, the explosion would not be as powerful

In this essay I hope to talk to you about nuclear fusion. I will do this by outlining a few important aspects to take into consideration when talking about nuclear fusion. I hope to tell you what nuclear fusion is and when it was discovered. I hope to talk about the dangers involved with nuclear fusion and will it be controlled. I want to talk a bit about some previous nuclear disasters that humanity has faced in the past. I hope to talk a little bit about nuclear waste. I also hope to talk about some applications of nuclear energy in the 21st century. I hope to talk about some future uses of nuclear fusion that I have thought of. Finally I hope to give a conclusion about nuclear fusion and talk about what I have learned.

This is evident in Figure … where an equivalent amount of energy is given, the nuclear energy is able to sustain power up to years, where normal fossil fuel can only sustain up to a few days. Although there are debates that the life span of nuclear power sources such as Uranium is low and is comparable to oil, this do not pose a threat as nuclear energy can be recycled.

The global energy demand is increasing as years go by as there is a rapid growth of population in deed of power. Due to the high demand for energy, many people are opting to replace other forms of energy with nuclear power because of its safety, reliability, and sustainability. In addition, it is one of the cleanest carbon free sources of energy available in the world today. Nuclear power is the use of continuous nuclear fission to produce electricity and heat. However, there are a number of controversies over the use of nuclear energy with some supporting its use while others opposing the use of nuclear energy. Despite the controversy on whether to use nuclear energy as an alternative, nuclear power has proved to be safe, reliable, clean, and inexpensive. Therefore, Nuclear energy should replace other forms of power around the globe because it is more environmentally friendly, cost effective, and safe for use and to exist with human beings compared to other forms of energy being used today.

Now, it’s obvious that I’m no nuclear engineer, but it has always fascinated me. Growing up very close to Turkey Point nuclear plant in Miami and having a father that worked there, I was able to see things normal people wouldn 't have seen. I got to go into the training room where they train the new reactor operators. And this interest lead me to do more research on the other sources of energy and what I found lead me to this conclusion.

Over 20 percent of the energy in the United States comes from nuclear energy power plants. (Rinkesh, 2018) They so their best to get as much energy to the country as possible, but there are those out there who don’t agree with them. While there are downsides to nuclear energy, the pros vastly outweigh the cons. Nuclear power plants are a great way to get energy because they don’t let out much pollution, are very efficient, and are very safe.

Prior to the introduction of nuclear energy, fossil fuel was thought to be the only available source in producing energy. Although fossil fuel, such as coal, petroleum, and natural gas, contains high energy value, it produces too many harmful byproducts that ultimately pollute our environment. With the rising concerns over global warming as more and more greenhouse gases accumulate in our Earth’s atmosphere, many voice such opinions that new alternative, yet sustainable method must be adopted to produce energy. Nuclear energy is one of the several alternative energy sources that have been introduced ever since. Nuclear energy’s various advantages entice many countries to start practicing it. One must consider the amount of energy generated by nuclear fuels, as they are highly-concentrated energy sources. Small uranium pellets, which are the most common form of fuel in generating nuclear energy, can generate as much electricity as a trainload full of coal does. In addition, nuclear power plants do not produce green house gases as byproducts.

Chernobyl, Ukraine. April 26, 1986. A nuclear reactor had exploded due to poorly trained workers and a badly executed monitoring procedure. It took over 600,000 emergency workers and firefighters to end the madness. By the end, 63,000 square miles of land were impacted and could not be used for crops. At least 5 million people were sick or disabled, and 985,000 were left dead. Even today, 4.5 million people have their houses on affected land, and are eating food that has been poisoned by this incident. The damage that nuclear power can do is off the charts, and although it doesn’t pollute the air like fossil fuels do, it can wreak havoc. Right now, 4.5 million people are sitting on radiation, smelling radiation, eating radiation, and living on radiation. Nuclear fission is what caused all the destruction. Nuclear fission occurs when an atom splits and releases energy. Nuclear fission is cheap and produces more energy than fossil fuels, but it releases hazardous waste. Another method of using energy must be found. Enter nuclear fusion. Nuclear fusion is the exact opposite of fission, in which two atoms join together. Fusion is one of the most heavily-researched topics in the world right now because it has the potential to

Nuclear energy has numerous world benefits that other forms of energy creation just don’t, and its pros are truly unprecedented by any other source of energy. Nuclear power plants are inexpensive to run, which means they can easily be maintained and sustained at a low cost. And while the reactors themselves may be expensive, with government grants the materials can be much more easily purchased and built. The most expensive part of the nuclear reactor process is the uranium, which again, isn’t hard to get as it’s used in few other applications and can be acquired through government programs. Additionally, the energy emitted from these power plants compared to their cost is immense and an extremely worthwhile investment for governments and private businesses.

Power plants burn fuel to produce heat to generate energy; however, nuclear power plants use the heat given off fission to turn water into steam. Nuclear energy is without a doubt a great way to power our homes because, Nuclear power plants are safer than other energy alternatives. Nuclear plants are safer than other energy alternatives. Coal is responsible for five times more deaths than nuclear power plants, coal also causes over one thousands more serious causes of illness than nuclear. Nuclear plants produce steam while coal plants, heat water by burning coal that produces greenhouse emissions. Contrary to popular belief, nuclear power plants are unable to explode. Power plants use fuel that is thirty to ninety times too diluted to explode.

Nuclear power produces fewer carbon emissions than traditional energy sources because energy is not produced by burning molecules but splitting atoms. ‘An energy mix including nuclear power has the lowest impact on wildlife and Ecosystems’ as shown by a Conservation Biology paper. Consequently, greenhouse gas emissions have reduced by nearly half which shows the benefits and popularity of nuclear power use. Nuclear power has many environmental benefits such as small waste production, leaves no adverse effect on water, land or any habitats. By reducing fossil fuel consumption and switching to Nuclear Energy, we will sustain the environment, quality of air, improving the overall quality of

Nuclear weapons have only been used practically twice in history, which occurred in the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. From the nuclear weapons being executed on the two Japanese cities, over 210,000 casualties were reported. If nuclear weapons were ever used in modern day, the result would be globally catastrophic. As contemporary nukes are more powerful and have bigger abilities, their effects could put billions at risk of famine and death. Nuclear energy can completely disrupt agricultures and environments. If the environment was exposed to even a relatively small nuclear weapon, studies show that devastating effects would take place against the world’s climate and decade long lasting effects on the ecosystems of the Earth. A small perception that can be used to see the effects of nuclear energy being exposed to the environment is the Chernobyl Disaster of 1986. To this day, there are still no inhabitants of the exposed areas inside Chernobyl, Ukraine, as those exposed can experience heavy vulnerabilities to cancer, diseases, and death. Just from the small accident in Chernobyl, there are still modern effects of the disaster. Things like birth defects, sights of mutated organisms, and sicknesses are still reported as a result from the mass leak of radiation. Having these effects on a regional, national, or

There is a quote by President Barack Obama saying, “To truly transform our economy, protect our security, and save our planet from the ravages of climate change, we need to ultimately make clean, renewable energy the profitable kind of energy,” (“151 Inspiring Environmental Quotes”). He believes as many due that nonrenewable resources are harmful to all aspects of life. The energy we use now is harmful to our planet, to humans, and to animals. Scientists are taking steps to making the world a better place. They found sources that replenished naturally in a short amount of time and are less destructive in all aspects. Due to these issues, renewable resources should become our primary source of energy.

Nuclear energy is something that we`ve all heard about. It carries risk and potential. When an atom (Uranium and Plutonium in nuclear power plants) is bombarded by neutrons, it can be split, causing fission. This fission releases more neutrons, which causes a chain reaction. Nuclear power plants use this use the heat that is created by fission to heat water that spins their turbines (“Nuclear Energy”). The potential is limitless, and it should be realized as they have low greenhouse gas emissions, are efficient, powerful, cheap and reliable. Positives outweigh the negatives, and we should keep on using nuclear energy.