Nuclear Energy Essay

The New Frontier: Nuclear Energy The modern world revolves around the distribution and use of energy. For the past 150 years this energy has been obtained through fossil fuels and this form of energy has allowed for many of the greatest creations on the Earth today. However, this age of fossil fuels is coming to an abrupt end due to the increasingly limited supply of these substances such as coal and oil. As these resources become scarcer they also become more expensive to excavate and use. This cost induced economic strain coupled with increased demand and the imminent exhaustion of fossil fuels has ushered in the development of new energy technologies. Development of technologies such as nuclear energy may in fact solve our era’s energy …show more content…
The energy of the atom is unfathomable compared to traditional sources of energy. Coal in comparison to uranium is puny. Producing a mere 12 kWh per kilogram of coal it is vastly smaller in energy output compared to nuclear energy. In fact, nuclear energy produces 3 million more kWh of energy per gram. This massive amount of energy equates to around 24 million kWh of energy per kilogram (European Nuclear Society). This enormous amount of energy has the ability to power around 2,051 average American houses for a year. In comparison 1 kilogram of coal will power 0.0010 houses a year (Shrink That Footprint). This drastic difference is nearly incomprehensible and could help economies on many levels as seen by its ability to produce power for an ever increasing population. However, despite this incredible amount of energy nuclear energy does have drawbacks in regard to its energy production. Nuclear power plants using uranium-235 do pose greater risk to communities because of their use of such a radioactive element. Disasters such as those seen in Chernobyl Ukraine and Fukushima Japan are testaments to the destructive power of misused uranium. Overall, however, if properly used uranium is much more useful as a source of