Essay - Sebastian Salazar Ramos. Cc:1152227027.

Is Nuclear Power an interesting alternative?

Today, the wolrd is suffering an enviromental crisis because the use of fosil
fuels in all industrial fields, the main problem about fosil fuels is the emissions
of gases like carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide. The emission of these gases
generates something called "greenhouse effect", where the gases that are resulting of
combustion process increase slowly the global temperature. In addition, the use of
these fuels causes contamination water sources, soils and air. Due to this problem,
new methods have emerged to transform and obtain energy in a cleaner and
more renewable way, where generation waste can be mitigated and, little by little,
fossil fuels can be replaced by other energetic alternatives. Some of the
renewable energies that have gained more strength in the last decade have been wind
energy, tidal energy, solar energy, hydraulic energy and nuclear energy. Nuclear
energy is presented as an alternative to reduce the use of traditional fuels, where the
objective is to reduce the waste materials resulting from the transformation of energy
and in turn, obtain an energy matrix that does not depend mostly on non-renewable
raw materials such as oil or water sources for hydroelectric power. This essay aims to
determine the characteristics of nuclear energy within a framework of global energy
crisis, thus seeking to provide both positive and negative aspects to defend the idea
that "it is necessary to progressively adopt nuclear energy as a real and efficient
alternative to meet the ever increasing energy demand". The background of the
use of this type of energy will serve as a guide to determine what aspects should be
avoided or carried out to adopt nuclear energy as an efficient and important energy
source in many nations.

Nuclear energy refers to the energy obtained by separating the protons from the
neutrons in the atomic nucleus, in this process uranium pellets are generally
used as raw material. This energetic process is carried out in nuclear power plants
with the aim of producing electricity. When uranium atoms disintegrate through fission
processes, a large amount of energy is released in the form of heat, this heat is
transferred by thermodynamic processes to a quantity of water present in the reactors,
when the water boils steam is produced, this steam is directed to some turbines to thus
generate electricity. This chemical process is called an exothermic process, in which
both nuclear fusion and nuclear fission, when splitting atoms or separating neutrons
and protons, release a large amount of energy in the form of heat, this heat will be
absorbed by the system containing water, thus following the first law of
thermodynamics. This resulting heat can also be explained by the expression E=mc²,
an equation described by the German physicist Albert Einstein, thus, when the fission
or fusion process occurs, the atoms experience a small loss of mass that is derived in
heat and radiation energy. One of the advantages in the implementation of nuclear
energy globally is the working fluid to be used, in this case the fluid that is heated is
water, which can be obtained directly from the sea or water sources such as lakes or
rivers, in addition, through machines such as condensers or high pressure turbines, the
water in vapor phase can change phase back to liquid state, thus establishing a
process of reuse of base material to generate electricity. Nuclear energy is mostly
used for electricity generation but can be applied in other fields such as "medicine,
hydrology, agriculture and food, mining, industry, art, environment, space exploration
and cosmology."

This type of energy has gained great strength in the last century, since one of the main
characteristics of nuclear energy is that to a greater extent the waste produced by this
type of energy is water vapor. In this energetic process, uranium is used as fuel,
because it is an element that can be separated more easily than others because
it has an intermolecular force that is relatively easy to break. To carry out the
nuclear fission process, it is required to use a specific type of uranium called U-235,
this type of uranium represents less than 1% of the world's total uranium, so it can
become a difficult raw material to get. The countries that have this element are
Australia, Canada, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Uzbekistan. It should be taken into
account that not all countries can possess or manipulate uranium, since this element
can be used for the creation of nuclear weapons, so countries that wish to enter the
world of nuclear energy must be on the list No Nuclear Proliferation Treated (NPT). A
common reactor uses about 200 tons of uranium per year, in addition, the radioactive
waste obtained can be reused in the same thermal plant. One of the risks involved in
the use of nuclear energy is radioactivity from U-235 fuel, since uranium does not
comply with the law of the octet (valence electrons) and is in nature an atomically
unstable element, so it can be easily transformed, releasing a large amount of energy
in the form of explosions or radiation. The handling of uranium is a delicate issue,
since exposure to this element can cause cancer and alter the genetic information of
living beings that are close to it, in addition, living beings do not have biological sensors
that can warn of the presence of this material in the environment where they are, these
factors determine that the handling of this material must be carried out under strict
safety standards, to avoid environmental catastrophes and safeguard the lives of
people who may work in a nuclear plant.

An example of the use of nuclear energy was the plant "The Three Mile Island", located
in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. This nuclear plant was capable of generating 892 net
megawatts of electricity. This power would allow the supply of electricity to more than
800,000 buildings. In 1979, the plant suffered an accident so it was completely closed.
It is clear that to develop this type of energy, countries must make a large investment in
education and technology to adapt to the energy requirements of nuclear fission. This
type of energy has as great advantages the continuous generation of large amount of
electric fluid, the absence of greenhouse gases because it is not necessary to use
fossil fuels, also this alternative can be applied at all times of the year, something that
can differentiate this energy from hydraulic, which represents almost 65% of the world's
energy potential. This type of energy also has some disadvantages such as the risk of
a nuclear disaster due to the use of radioactive materials such as uranium, the high
economic and technological cost required for the manufacture of nuclear plants and the
possible energy dependence due to its thermal efficiency.

By presenting these arguments, it is possible to defend the possibility of

implementing an energy plan whose main matrix is the use of nuclear energy,
because the advantages at the environmental level are very great, it would work
in favor of the rational and efficient use of the energy and will significantly
reduce the footprint generated by fossil fuels. It must be taken into account that
adopting this type of energy also generates new responsibilities regarding the disposal
or reuse of radioactive materials that result from the fission process, in addition, the
idea that this energy MUST not be used for the creation of warfare must be
implemented. In short,nuclear energy is a very viable path for the possible energy crisis
that the world will suffer in the coming years.
By exposing these ideas, the position of defending the development, implementation
and growth of nuclear energy at a global level is put forward, since it is presented as a
source of energy of great calorific power, which has a process that allows the reuse of
both fuel material and base material (uranium and water), this allows to reduce the
amount of traditional fossil fuels used for electricity generation. the implementation of
nuclear energy carries with it a great environmental responsibility for the nations that
carry out this type of energy transformation, because although it is an energy carrier, it
presents environmental risks and requires strict and safe regulation.

* References:
1. www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/nuclear-energy, Nuclear energy
2. Hubbert, M. K. (1956, January). Nuclear energy and the fossil fuel. In Drilling and
production practice. American Petroleum Institute.
3. Zinkle, S. J., & Was, G. S. (2013). Materials challenges in nuclear energy. Acta
Materialia, 61(3), 735-758.

4. www.foronuclear.org/descubre-la-energia-nuclear/que-es-la-energia-nuclear/
nuclear energy forum