One of the world’s most powerful sources of energy production is nuclear power, the use of exothermic nuclear processes to generate useful heat and energy. Soon after the discovery in the early 20th century that radioactive elements released an immense amount of energy the pursuit to harness nuclear energy began. Ways of harnessing this energy at the time were, however, impractical due to the short half-lives. This changed in the late 1930s with the discovery of nuclear fission, a process that entails either a nuclear reaction or radioactive decay in which the nucleus of a particle is split into smaller parts. The Atomic Age was born. From simple beginnings, nuclear power has evolved into a complex nucleus of efficient systems producing power
…show more content…
According to a graph from the Forbes Magazine, nuclear power is the second most cost-efficient energy power source. It is $22 per MWhr (megawatts per hour), coming in a close second to hydro-electricity which is $19 per MWhr. While green energy looks appealing on the surface it has no hope of actually solving any real energy needs. Nuclear power is proven, efficient, and next to hydroelectric power the most efficient use of land we have where resources are constrained. The relatively recent developments of fissionable material recycling, breeder reactors, means that fission system life cycle can be increased until more technology (fusion discussed later) can be brought into play. Politics has been heavily involved in the demise of US nuclear power development. The current needs of energy policy have the potential to overturn years of poor energy policy development choices.
Thanks to development and research on nuclear power, many countries are getting improved performance than past years with nuclear reactors. In 2012, ten countries with four or more units averaged better than 80% load factor, while French reactors averaged 73.6%, despite many being run in load-following mode, rather than purely for base-load power, showed World Nuclear Association …show more content…
This places the USA as the performance leader with nearly half of the top 50 reactors, the 50th achieving more than 94% in 2012. The USA accounts for nearly one third of the world’s nuclear electricity.”
Stone (2011) shows that the world’s population is constantly and rapidly increasing. By 2050 the population is expected to be over 9 billion. With this many people it would be impossible to sustain the population without nuclear power. Stone (2011) also found that prosperity stabilizes population and prosperity depends on energy. In order to keep the world’s population steady, nuclear power needs to be further developed to become cleaner and more
According to a graph from the Forbes Magazine, nuclear power is the second most cost-efficient energy power source. It is $22 per MWhr (megawatts per hour), coming in a close second to hydro-electricity which is $19 per MWhr. While green energy looks appealing on the surface it has no hope of actually solving any real energy needs. Nuclear power is proven, efficient, and next to hydroelectric power the most efficient use of land we have where resources are constrained. The relatively recent developments of fissionable material recycling, breeder reactors, means that fission system life cycle can be increased until more technology (fusion discussed later) can be brought into play. Politics has been heavily involved in the demise of US nuclear power development. The current needs of energy policy have the potential to overturn years of poor energy policy development choices.
Thanks to development and research on nuclear power, many countries are getting improved performance than past years with nuclear reactors. In 2012, ten countries with four or more units averaged better than 80% load factor, while French reactors averaged 73.6%, despite many being run in load-following mode, rather than purely for base-load power, showed World Nuclear Association …show more content…
This places the USA as the performance leader with nearly half of the top 50 reactors, the 50th achieving more than 94% in 2012. The USA accounts for nearly one third of the world’s nuclear electricity.”
Stone (2011) shows that the world’s population is constantly and rapidly increasing. By 2050 the population is expected to be over 9 billion. With this many people it would be impossible to sustain the population without nuclear power. Stone (2011) also found that prosperity stabilizes population and prosperity depends on energy. In order to keep the world’s population steady, nuclear power needs to be further developed to become cleaner and more