5/6/2020 Nuclear Energy | Types | Production | Advantages | Disadvantages

Nuclear Energy - Pros and Cons

HOME / ARTICLES / NUCLEAR ENERGY - PROS AND CONS

The sun, stars and wind are seemingly inexhaustible sources of energy. Basically, there are two types of energy sources:

Conventional Energy Sources

Non-conventional Energy Sources

While coal, petroleum etc are the conventional sources of energy, various other sources of energy such as atomic energy or
nuclear energy are also becoming popular these days. Nuclear energy is the prospect of future and there is a lot of research
work going on in this eld these days.

Nuclear energy is the form of energy in which matter is converted to energy by the means of sustained nuclear ssion to
generate heat and electricity. Scientists have been able to harness that mechanism and successfully use it to generate
power. Presently, nuclear energy provides for approximately 16% of the world's electricity and about 6% of the world's energy.
The nuclear reactors that we have today work on the principle of nuclear ssion. Around the world, there are thousands of
scientists working daily for nding out some more ways to harness nuclear energy more e ciently and e ectively.

Nuclear energy can be produced naturally or through manmade operations in a controlled manner:

Naturally: Nuclear energy can be produced naturally, like sun and stars making heat and light energy.

Man-Made:  Nuclear energy can be man-made too through the process of controlled nuclear reactions under favourable
conditions. Machines called nuclear reactors, parts of nuclear power plants, provide electricity for many cities and are being used
e ciently. Man-made nuclear reactions also occur in the explosion of atomic and hydrogen bombs. Further man-made nuclear
energy can be created in two di erent ways that are Nuclear Fission and Nuclear Fusion.

Nuclear Fission: Nuclear ssion is the process in which the atoms of nuclei split thus causing energy to be released.
Some destructive process like the atomic bomb also works by nuclear ssion. The element uranium is the main fuel
used to undergo nuclear ssion to produce energy since it has many favourable properties. Uranium nuclei can be
easily split by shooting neutrons at them. Also, once a uranium nucleus is split, multiple neutrons are released which
are used to split other uranium nuclei. This phenomenon is known as a chain reaction. 
Fission is a form of nuclear transmutation because the resulting fragments are not having the properties same as
that of the atom. The two nuclei produced as a result of nuclear ssion are most often of comparable but slightly
di erent sizes, typically with a mass ratio of products of about 3 to 2, for common ssile isotopes. Most ssion
reactions are binary ssions producing two charged fragments, but occasionally 2 to 4 times per 1000 events, three
positively charged fragments are produced, in a ternary ssion. The smallest of these fragments in ternary processes
range in size from a proton to an argon nucleus.  Nuclear ssion can also occur e ectively without neutron
bombardment, as a type of radioactive decay. This type of ssion is called spontaneous ssion and is very rare except
in a few heavy isotopes. In various nuclear devices, particularly all nuclear ssion occurs as a whole nuclear reaction

https://targetstudy.com/articles/nuclear-energy-pros-and-cons.html 1/4
5/6/2020 Nuclear Energy | Types | Production | Advantages | Disadvantages

which is a bombardment-driven process that results from the collision of only two subatomic particles and may be a
dangerous process. Nuclear reactions are thus driven by the mechanics of bombardment. Many types of nuclear
reactions are currently known and being used.
Nuclear ssion di ers importantly from other types of nuclear reactions, in that it can be ampli ed and sometimes be
controlled by a nuclear chain reaction (one type of general chain reaction). In such a reaction, free neutrons released
by each ssion event can trigger yet more events, which in turn release more neutrons and cause more ssion. This
may also lead to an explosion. The most common ssion process is binary ssion and produces two ssion products.
Another type is ternary ssion in which three products are formed but ternary is less common.

Nuclear Fusion: Nuclear fusion is the process by which the nuclei of atoms are joined together or fused together by
colliding them with each other at very high speed. This happens only under very hot conditions that are specially
created for reaction to take place. Nuclear ssion is the source of the energy of the Sun like all other stars. The
nuclear fusion reaction in sun takes place when hydrogen nuclei fuse to make helium. The hydrogen bomb, which is
the most powerful and destructive weapon, also works by the principle of nuclear fusion. The heat required to start
the fusion reaction is so great that an atomic bomb is used to provide it and this type of reaction is carried out very
carefully and by expert research scholars only. In nuclear fusion reaction hydrogen nuclei are fused to form helium
and in the process release huge amounts of energy thus producing a huge explosion which is carried out under the
controlled environment. During the process of nuclear fusion, the matter is not conserved because some of the mass
of the fusing nuclei is converted to photons which are released through a cycle. Fusion reaction of light elements is
the source of power of the stars and produces virtually all elements in a process called nucleosynthesis. The fusion
of two nuclei with relatively lower atomic masses than iron generally releases energy, while the fusion of nuclei
heavier than iron leads to absorption of energy. The opposite is true for the reverse process, nuclear ssion, fusion
process generally occurs for lighter elements only, and on the other hand, ssion normally occurs only for heavier
elements.

Nuclear Power
Nuclear power plants are the scope of future. Today there are a lot of non-conventional energy sources being explored by the
scientist. Nuclear power is also one of them. As day by day demand for energy is increasing, the energy sources are also
being depleted side by side; hence a day will come when all the conventional sources would be extinguished. In order to avoid
such situation, it is better to nd out some non-conventional sources of energy and develop them well in advance to reduce
some burden of conventional sources so that they are not depleted. Just as the conventional thermal power stations
generate electricity by harnessing the thermal energy released by the burning of fossil fuels like coal, petroleum etc, nuclear
power plants make use of the energy released from the nucleus of an atom by the process of nuclear ssion that takes place
in a nuclear reactor under a controlled reaction. The heat is removed from the reactor core by a cooling system that uses the
heat to generate steam, which drives a steam turbine connected to a generator hence producing electricity.

Nuclear Energy- Advantages and Disadvantages

There is no perfect energy source which produces energy without any complication related to it. Each and every process one
has its own advantages and compromises related to their energy production process or in the form of byproducts which are
being produced. Nuclear power is a sustainable energy source that reduces carbon emissions and increases energy security
by decreasing dependence on imported energy sources. Nuclear energy comes with a great advantage of producing energy
without any pollution and resource depletion, but it has disadvantages too. The nuclear power debate concerns the
controversy that surrounds the deployment and using of nuclear ssion reactors in order to generate electricity from nuclear
fuel for civilian purposes. Nuclear power poses many threats to people as well as the environment. These threats include the
problems are due to radioactive material being used in these plants and concern mostly the processing, transport and
storage of radioactive nuclear waste, the risk of nuclear weapons proliferation and terrorism. There are also some serious
health risks as well as environmental damage related to uranium mining which is carried out for nuclear power production
process. Nuclear reactors themselves are enormously complex machines where if anything goes slightly out of order can lead
to some serious accidents which humans have experienced earlier and are very dangerous for mankind.

Advantages of Nuclear Energy

The Earth has limited supplies of conventional energy sources like coal petroleum etc. Nuclear power plants can produce electricity
without these sources like coal and oil and help in lowering their consumption.

Very small amount of raw material is required. Nuclear power plants need less fuel than ones which burn fossil fuels. One ton of
uranium produces more energy than is produced by several million tons of coal or several million barrels of oil.

https://targetstudy.com/articles/nuclear-energy-pros-and-cons.html 2/4
5/6/2020 Nuclear Energy | Types | Production | Advantages | Disadvantages

Nuclear power is an absolutely clean form of energy; it does not result in any emission of toxic gases like carbon dioxide, nitrogen
dioxide or sulfur dioxide.  Coal and oil burning plants pollute the air. Well-operated nuclear power plants do not release any kind of
contaminants into the environment. Air pollution these days is one of our main concerns about our environment. Hence an option
like a nuclear plant is certainly preferable over the combustion of conventional fossil fuels which causes much more pollution and
produce less energy.

The important aspect of energy production in a nuclear plant is related to the management of the waste products. Nuclear waste
that results from the generation of nuclear power is much easier to manage as compared to those related to some conventional
power process. Since the nuclear waste is dumped in a proper geological position, where it decays over a period of time thus it has
no negative impact on our ecosystem. This proves to be one of the greatest advantages of nuclear power compared to the
conventional power production process that produces chemical waste, such as arsenic or mercury, that refuses to dissipate, or
toxic gases thus causing global warming, acid rain and smog which possess a great threat for our environment.

A yet another major bene t of nuclear energy is that it is an extremely reliable source of energy since most of the nuclear reactors
come with a lifespan of 40 years, which can easily be extended again for 20 years.  Hence reliability is an added advantage.

The availability of nuclear power has quickly gained competitive with other energy sources such as oil and gas because of
economic reason, as the cost of nuclear fuel is a small part of the overall reaction, so even if there is a uctuation in the cost of
material in the market the reaction would not be a ected much.

A great fear associated with nuclear energy in the mind of people is the fear of radiation. People actually don’t know that the
radiation was part of our environment, since its existence, and that the radiation in proper amounts can even be very bene cial to
our health. Hence radiation is not something from which we need to fear but can be channelled appropriately to serve humanity in
a positive and a proper way.  

Nuclear power stations are usually very compact compared to thermal stations.

Its maintenance cost is very low.

Also, the transportation of material can also be very easy since these are required in very small quantity unless we consider
security.

Disadvantages of Nuclear Energy

Safety issues associated with nuclear power are hard to be overlooked.

The initial set-up cost is very high because of complex radiation containment systems and procedures

Great risk of accident in the form of nuclear explosion or fuel leakage

Time involved in the construction of these power plants is very large

Threat from terrorism

Uranium sources which are most importantly needed are just as nite as other fuel sources, such as coal, natural gas, etc., and also
slightly expensive to mine, re ne, and transport, and produce considerable environmental waste during all of these processes.

Nuclear waste takes at least 200 thousand years to degrade.

The proliferation of nuclear technology increases the risk of nuclear war too. 

Shipping nuclear waste internationally is expensive considering security also and, poses an increased potential threat of terrorism.

Articles on Education

 10 Things to do after getting Your First Job

 10 Tips for Success in Personal Interview

 Adult Literacy in India and it's Implications

 Advances in Biotechnology

 Advances in Space Science

 Advantages and Disadvantages of Arti cial Intelligence

 Advantages and Disadvantages of E-learning

 Advantages and Disadvantages of Movies

https://targetstudy.com/articles/nuclear-energy-pros-and-cons.html 3/4
5/6/2020 Nuclear Energy | Types | Production | Advantages | Disadvantages

 Advantages and Disadvantages of Outsourcing

 Are we really civilized?

 Army Vs Air Force - A Better Career Choice

VIEW MORE

Alerts Entrance Exams Knowledge Hub

Admission Notices Bank Exams Important Days

Results CA Entrance Exams Festival

Exams Defence Services Exams Abbreviations

Recruitments Educational Exams Inventions and Discoveries

Scholarships Engineering Entrance Exams Questions and Answers

Announcements Fashion Technology Entrance Exams One Word Substitution

Education Articles Foreign Education Exams Interesting Facts

Distance Education VIEW MORE Natural World

Languages Idioms and Phrases

VIEW MORE

Institutions Career Options Exams

Universities in India IAS O ces JEE

Polytechnics India IPS O cer GATE

Colleges in India Courses in India IAS

Schools in India Degrees Courses CAT

ITI in india Education News MAT

IIT in india Datesheets B.ED

IIM in india Scholarships in India UGC NET

IIIT in india Subjects XIMB

NIT in india Economics SNAP

VIEW MORE VIEW MORE

Page Views: 1910 Updated On: 19-Sep-2018  DISCLAIMER

 REPORT ERROR

ABOUT US DISCLAIMER PRIVACY POLICY TERMS & CONDITIONS SITEMAP CONTACT US

ALL TRADE MARKS BELONG TO THE RESPECTIVE OWNERS.

© 2020 TARGET INFORMATICS PVT. LTD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

https://targetstudy.com/articles/nuclear-energy-pros-and-cons.html 4/4