Nuclear power
Nuclear power uses the energy from within atomic nuclei to produce an immense amount of heat which is used to boil water into steam which is then used to drive turbines to generate electricity.
The process that extracts the energy from aomic nuclei is nuclear fission. This is the part of the process that concerns many people and brings public opposition to nuclear power.
introduction to nuclear power
Click the following link for an introduction to nuclear power, the atom itself, radioactive particles and the concept of radioactive half-life.
Nuclear Power Station
public concerns
The public controversy surrounding nuclear power comes from the public concern regarding:
- the risk of an explosion
- the risk of a leak of radiation
- the safety of transferring radioactive material, including waste, on public roads and railways
- the long term storage of radioactive waste
- risk of a terrorist attack on a nuclear power station or waste storage areas
However, because of global warming concerns and the subsequent need to move away from burning fossil fuels to generate electricity, nuclear power stations will have to play a significant role in providing a 24 x 7 supply of electricity over at least the next decade.
With technology as it is at the moment, renewable energy sources will not generate sufficient supplies of electricity on a continuous basis. They need the sun to shine, the wind to blow etc. and the replacements for nuclear energy, and even the burning of fossil fuels, have to be able to operate around the clock!.
The fact that the problems in generating sufficient energy from renewable sources may be solved in ten or twenty years time, does not help at all with the problem of producing sufficient electricity now!
susquehanna nuclear power station
