WHAT IS NUCLEAR POWER?

Nuclear power is an alternative power source that uses the nuclear fission of uranium to create heat and, thereby, through a heat transfer mechanism and turbines, create electricity. Nuclear power is the use of sustained nuclear fission to generate heat and electricity. Nuclear power plants provide about 6% of the world's energy and 13 1 % of the world's electricity, with the !."., #rance, and $apan together accounting for about %&% of nuclear generated electricity. 'n (&&), the '*+* reported there were 3, nuclear power reactors in operation in the world, operating in 31 countries. *lso, more than 1%& naval vessels using nuclear propulsion have been built.

-http.//www.eia.doe.gov/0ids HOW DOES IT WORK? #or a nuclear reactor to create energy it is necessary for nuclear fission to ta0e place. 1his occurs when an atom is split into smaller particles and an enormous amount of energy is released in the process. !ranium is used as the fuel for the reaction as it is radioactive, and is therefore unstable enough to be bro0en down into smaller parts. 1he uranium atom absorbs a neutron and splits into two e2ual parts and energy is created. 1his 0inetic energy becomes heat energy as the particles slow down, and it is this heat energy, which is used to produce electricity. 1he heat is moved through a transfer medium, such as water, and is used to turn water into steam. 1his steam turns a turbine, which is connected to a generator. *s the turbine turns the generator it creates electricity, which is then transferred to the consumers.

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Nuclear power stations wor0 in pretty much the same way as fossil fuel7burning stations, e8cept that a 9chain reaction9 inside a nuclear reactor ma0es the heat instead. 1he reactor uses !ranium rods as fuel, and the heat is generated by nuclear fission: neutrons smash into the nucleus of the uranium atoms, which split roughly in half and release energy in the form of heat. :arbon dio8ide gas or water is pumped through the reactor to ta0e the heat away, this then heats water to ma0e steam. 1he steam drives turbines which drive generators. ;odern nuclear power stations use the same type of turbines and generators as conventional power stations. 'n <ritain, nuclear power stations are often built on the coast, and use sea water for cooling the steam ready to be pumped round again. 1his means that they don't have the huge 9cooling towers9 seen at other power stations. 1he reactor is controlled with 9control rods9, made of boron, which absorb neutrons. =hen the rods are lowered into the reactor, they absorb more neutrons and the fission process slows down. 1o generate more power, the rods are raised and more neutrons can crash into uranium atoms. IS IT RENEWABLE? Nuclear power is renewable as it doesn't use fossil fuels or other non7renewable resources in the production of energy> however it isn't as renewable as some of the alternatives, such as wind or solar power, which rely solely on natural phenomena to create their power. 'n the short term it is unli0ely that uranium will run out, but eventually it will. 1herefore we can say that nuclear power is only renewable in the short term. APPLICATIONS O NUCLEAR POWER

*bout & nuclear reactors are used around the world to produce about 1)% of the world's electricity but in theory nuclear fission can be used for much more. *t the

end of the "econd =orld =ar the *llies secured victory by dropping the atomic bomb on $apan. 1he bomb uses the same principles of splitting the atom as the nuclear reactors do in creating electricity. 3n a smaller, less destructive scale, the theories of nuclear fission are used daily in medicine. "canning devices and the treatment of cancer both use the radiation from splitting an atom. AD!ANTA"ES

*s an alternative to normal coal7based electricity production nuclear power is favourable as it is much more efficient than coal 4(%&g of uranium produces (&&&& times more electricity than (%&g of coal5 and is far less polluting, especially to our atmosphere, as no harmful greenhouse gases are emitted. 4ie. carbon mono8ide, sulphur dio8ide, nitrogen o8ide etc.5. 't is generally a reliable process that can be counted on to produce electricity for many years 4average availability over three years is about ?&%5. 1he amount of waste produced each year would cover only your dining room table@ 1he waste is stored in fire7, water7, and earth2ua0e7proof capsules to ensure safety.

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Nuclear power plants are more efficient than ever before. New technology has made them more reliable 4they brea0 down less often5 and safer. Aeople for nuclear power argue that this is evidenced by more and more nations 4such as :hina5 building nuclear power plants. Beduce greenhouse gas emissions. 1his is a contentious issue. Aroponents of nuclear power argue that, as no coal or fossil fuels are burnt, no carbon dio8ide is released into the air. Cowever, uranium has to be mined and transported to the nuclear plant. <oth these activities re2uire burning of fuels, so carbon dio8ide is released. *lso, producing nuclear fuel from the uranium re2uires a lot of energy, which also contributes to the emission of greenhouse gases. *lthough the initial cost of building nuclear plants is high, the running costs are relatively low. 3ne reason the costs are low is that nuclear plants need only a small amount of uranium to produce a lot of energy. 'n fact, if the cost of uranium doubled, costs would only be increased by )%. 1 truc0 of uranium produces as much energy as 1&&& truc0s of coal@ Beduces dependence on foreign oils and natural gas 4li0e biofuels5. *merica, for instance, imports a lot of oil and natural gas from other countries. 1he price of these products is volatile, and change very 2uic0ly. 'f the price increases 2uic0ly, consumers have to pay more for their electricity 4which they may not be able to afford5. <uilding more nuclear power plants means

that *mericans will not be susceptible to price rises in oil and gas. Aresident <arac0 3bama supports this idea of Denergy independenceE.

Nuclear wastes can be safely stored underground 4another debated issue5.

DISAD!ANTA"ES

1here is pollution in the form of radioactive waste but with new technologies the process is becoming cleaner and safer each year. 1he possibility of radiation lea0age or plant meltdown. 1his is possible in theory and has happened in the past 4:hernobyl in Bussia5 but nowadays there are procedures in place to ensure safety. 1here are problems and dangers, which could lead to accidents. 1he power stations are all manually run and human error could lead to possible accidents. 1he reactors also have a very e8pensive capital outlay in the beginning, although the costs are cheaper in the long run. 1he plants do re2uire downtime for maintenance 4see Interesting Information below5.

3ther "ource. http.//wantto0nowit.com/disadvantages7of7nuclear7power/ W#a$ are $#e Disa%&an$a'es of Nuclear Po(er? Fue to many countries loo0ing to find more environmentally friendly ways of producing power the advantages of nuclear power have been widely publiciGed. 't is important, however to understand the disadvantages of this type of power usage as well. !nderstanding both sides of nuclear power is important especially in the light of the most recent nuclear disaster in $apan at #u0ushima '. Ra%ioac$i&e (as$e 1he production of nuclear power produced a lot of waste material. 1his waste material is e8tremely haGardous and difficult to dispose of safely. ;ost radioactive waste produced by a nuclear power plant is 0eep on site or is buried underground in huge concrete pits. 1his waste has to be carefully loo0ed after for many thousands of years. Hi'# ris)s associa$e% (i$# acci%en$s =hile the chance of a nuclear accident happening are relatively low the ris0s associated are e8tremely high. +ven small radiation lea0s can cause devastating effects on the surrounding environment and people. * cataclysmic accident can cause widespread radiation poisoning across many countries as the :hernobyl Nuclear disaster proved.

Terroris$ Tar'e$s Fue to the wide spread damage a reactor breach could cause, nuclear power plants could become favoured terrorist targets. "ome nuclear reactions also produce plutonium in large 2uantities which could be used in nuclear weaponry. No$ rene(a*le Nuclear power is not a renewable source of energy. !ranium is a metal that is mined from the ground in much the same way as coal is mined. 't is a scarce metal and the supply of uranium will one day run out ma0ing all the nuclear power plants obsolete. Nuclear power is not a long term solution to finding a renewable, environmentally friendly energy source. Ti+e an% ,one't ta0es a long time to plan and build a nuclear power plant that is safe and effective. Nuclear power is therefore to a 2uic0 solution to the worldEs energy issues. 'n addition to the time it ta0e to effectively plan and build a nuclear power plant, a lot of money has to be spent to ma0e sure that the plant is safe. !nsafe plants mean that there are more li0ely to be accidents. NUCLEAR POWER IN SOUTH A RICA 1he only nuclear power plant in "outh *frica, and on the whole continent, is situated Hust outside :ape 1own. Ioeberg Aower "tation is instrumental in providing electricity to :ape 1own and to the whole of the =estern :ape. 1he "tation employs about 1(&& people and was brought online on the th *pril 1,? . 't is able to produce 1?&&;= 4megawatts5 of electricity by means of its two ,&&;= units. Badioactive waste is either transferred to a remote site in the Ialahari Fesert 46&&0m away5 or if the waste is highly reactive it is stored onsite in special containment facilities.

-http.//www.es0om.co.Ga/live/content.php INTERESTIN" IN OR,ATION 3ne of the common worries of nuclear power is the danger of radiation lea0s, espacially after the horrors of :hernobyl. 'n :ape 1own we are fortunate that

Ioeberg is located on a geologically sound platform, far beyond the internationally prescribed 1&0m distance from city limits. 1he walls of reactors are also thic0 enough to withstand an earth2ua0e or even a plane crash. *s the :ity of :ape 1own has seenthe plants aren't completely reliable. 'n (&&6 there were many blac0outs in the :ape 1own metropole, caused by faults and brea0downs in the Ioeberg plant. ;aintenance was being carried out on the one generator when the other generator failed and shut down 7 causing blac0outs for months during winter. Ioeberg is situated the furthest "outh of any nuclear reactors in the =orld.

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"ource 4<elow5. http.//www.greenworldinvestor.com/(&11/& /&%/uses7of7nuclear7 power7nuclear7transport7shipssubmarinesagriculturehuman7 healthelectricityfuturistic7applications/ Uses of Nuclear Po(er . Nuclear Trans/or$ 0S#i/s1Su*+arines21A'ricul$ure1Hu+an Heal$#1Elec$rici$-1 u$uris$ic A//lica$ions Nuclear Aower has come under assault in the aftermath of the #u0ushima Nuclear *ccident with Nuclear becoming a four letter word.Cowever Nuclear +nergy cannot be ignored because its benefits are uni2ue in some applications and cannot be substituted by any other means.Nuclear Aower also cannot be replaced in the short term from its most widely used application of generating +lectricity.Note Nuclear Aower accounts for almost 1%% of the Jlobal +lectricity and in some countries is the maHor source of energy.#or e8ample #rance which has ?&% of its power coming from Nuclear #ission,its impossible to thin0 of shutting down nuclear plants li0e

Jermany which gets around (&%.Note even for !"* which has the largest installed base of nuclear reactors shutting down almost 1&& J= of Nuclear :apacity is 2uite unthin0able.<esides Nuclear +nergy has massive uses in medical and other applications.1his cannot be substituted by other means at all.#or e8ample its possible to replace Nuclear +lectricity by other means li0e "olar,=ind even :oal and Jas though its costs will be astounding.<ut you canEt replace Nuclear +nergy in ;edical *pplications li0e "canning and K7Bays.Cere is a list of the main uses of Nuclear +nergy. 32 Nuclear Trans/or$ 7 1here are a number of transport modes li0e "hips and "ubmarines which use Nuclear <ased Aropulsion.Note for the ;ilitary,Nuclear "ubmarines are of the most lethal weapons capable of staying under water for very long periods which diesel submarines are incapable of. 42 ,e%ical A//lica$ions Nuclear +nergy finds wide applications in ;edical "cience.!se of Nuclear +nergy for K7Bays,:hemotherapy 1reatments is widely 0nown and accepted. 52 S/ace an% u$uris$ic A//lica$ions =hile this technology is still immature and not widely used,#ission Beactors for powering roc0ets and space vehicles is very useful as the energy generated by small mass is possible which is not possible by chemical energy means.Nuclear #usion has been said to be the holy grail for generating almost infinite amounts of energy at low cost.BLF continues to be done to develop this and other forms of Nuclear Aower li0e <reeder Beactors etc. 62 oo% an% A'ricul$ure Badioisotopes and radiation used in food and agriculture."terile 'nsect 1echni2ue 4"'15 involves rearing large numbers of insects then irradiating them with gamma radiation before hatching, to steriliGe them. 1he sterile males are then released in large numbers in the infested areas. =hen they mate with females, no offspring are produced. =ith repeated releases of steriliGed males, the population of the insect pest in a given area is drastically reduced. 72 Elec$rici$- 7 1his is the greatest use of Nuclear Aower using Nuclear #ission.*ccording to =N* M"i8teen countries depend on nuclear power for at least a 2uarter of their electricity. #rance gets around three 2uarters of its power from nuclear energy, while <elgium, <ulgaria, :Gech Bepublic, Cungary, "lova0ia, "outh Iorea, "weden, "witGerland, "lovenia and !0raine get one third or more. $apan, Jermany and #inland get more than a 2uarter of their power from nuclear energy, while in the !"* one fifth is from nuclear. *mong countries which do not host nuclear power plants, 'taly gets about 1&% of its power from nuclear, and Fenmar0 about ?%.N A%&an$a'es of Nuclear Po(er Plan$s 1. Relia*ili$- 7 Nuclear Aower is a highly reliable form of energy almost as good as other fossil fuel energy forms li0e coal,gas etc.Nuclear Aower Alants e8cept in drastic situations continue to run reliably for the whole day without any changes.

(. Lo( uel Cos$ 7 Oarge amounts of Nuclear +nergy can be produced from the fission on radioactive elements li0e uranium.1he costs of nuclear fuel is relatively very low compared to other energy sources li0e coal and gas.*lso uranium prices currently are 2uite low ma0ing the nuclear electricity price even lower 3. Lo( Elec$rici$- Cos$ 1he +lectricity produced from Nuclear Aower is 2uite low at around 37%c/Iwh ma0ing it very attractive to construct hydro plants.Nuclear Alants also have long lives of between &76& years which means that they are e8tremely profitable once constructed within reasonable costs . No "reen#ouse "as E+issions8Air Pollu$ion Nuclear electricity does not produce any JCJ emissions or cause air pollution from the combustion of fossil fuels unli0e coal,oil or gas.1his ma0es them very attractive as a source of cheap,non carbon dio8ide producing electricity. %. Hi'# Loa% ac$or 7 Nuclear Aower Alants have very high load factors in e8cess of ?&%.1hey can generate power almost ( /) and only re2uire shutdown for periodic maintanance 6. Hu'e Po$en$ial Nuclear +nergy Aotential is almost infinite compared to the limited and pea0 features of other forms of energy li0e =ind,Jeothermal,3il,Jas and others.3nly "olar +nergy can be said to have more potential.Note new technologies and fuels li0e fast breeder and thorium are still in the wor0s which can increase the potential of Nuclear Aower more

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