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'''Nuclear power''' is the [[control]]led use of [[nuclear energy]]. Nuclear energy is energy in 'fissionable' elements like [[uranium]] that can be released by [[nuclear reaction]]s in a machine called a [[nuclear reactor]]. This energy is made into [[electricity]], which then can be used to power machines and [[heat]] homes. In 2007, 14% of the [[world]]'s electricity came from nuclear power. Nuclear power plants also make [[radioactive]] [[waste]] that could be harmful if it is not stored properly. Nuclear power plants produce less radioactive material than a coal fired power station.<ref>[http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=coal-ash-is-more-radioactive-than-nuclear-waste]</ref>
'''Nuclear power''' is the [[control]]led use of [[nuclear energy]]. Nuclear energy is energy in 'fissionable' elements like [[uranium]] that can be released by [[nuclear reaction]]s in a machine called a [[nuclear reactor]]. This energy is made into [[electricity]], which then can be used to power machines and [[heat]] homes. In 2007, 14% of the [[world]]'s electricity came from nuclear power. Nuclear power plants also make [[radioactive]] [[waste]] that could be harmful if it is not stored properly. Nuclear power plants produce less radioactive material than a coal fired power station.<ref>[http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=coal-ash-is-more-radioactive-than-nuclear-waste]</ref>


People have also been studying since the middle 20th century to use [[fusion power]]. This kind of nuclear power doesn't work yet.[[Image:Nuclear Power Plant Cattenom.jpg|thumb|260px|right|[[Cattenom power plant]] outside [[Metz]] is the largest nuclear power plant in [[France]], as of 2011.]]
People have also been studying since the middle 20th century to use [[fusion power]]. This kind of nuclear power doesn't work yet.[[Image:Nuclear Power Plant Cattenom.jpg|thumb|260px|right|[[Cattenom power plant]] outside [[Metz]] is the largest nuclear power plant in [[France]], as of 2011.


== History ==
== History ==

Revision as of 09:34, 8 May 2018

Nuclear power is the controlled use of nuclear energy. Nuclear energy is energy in 'fissionable' elements like uranium that can be released by nuclear reactions in a machine called a nuclear reactor. This energy is made into electricity, which then can be used to power machines and heat homes. In 2007, 14% of the world's electricity came from nuclear power. Nuclear power plants also make radioactive waste that could be harmful if it is not stored properly. Nuclear power plants produce less radioactive material than a coal fired power station.[1]

People have also been studying since the middle 20th century to use fusion power. This kind of nuclear power doesn't work yet.[[Image:Nuclear Power Plant Cattenom.jpg|thumb|260px|right|Cattenom power plant outside Metz is the largest nuclear power plant in France, as of 2011.

History

Enrico Fermi made the first nuclear reactor in 1941. Many reactors were built in the U.S. during World War II during the Manhattan Project. In 1954 the first nuclear power plant started in Obninsk near Moscow. Most nuclear power plants in the U.S. were built during the 1960s and 1970s. Nuclear reactors also power some large military ships and submarines.

Accidents

[[File:Fukushima I by Digital Globe.jpg|thumb|During the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant emergency in Japan, three nuclear reactors were damaged by explosions.]] Some serious nuclear accidents have occurred. A scale was made to measure how dangerous accidents are. It is called the International Nuclear Event Scale. The scale has 8 levels (0-7), and 7 is the worst.

Nuclear-powered submarine mishaps include the Soviet submarine K-19 reactor accident (1961),[7] the Soviet submarine K-27 reactor accident (1968),[8] and the Soviet submarine K-431 reactor accident (1985).[9]

Economics

The economics of nuclear power is challenging, and following the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster, costs are likely to go up for currently operating and new nuclear power plants, due to increased requirements for on-site spent fuel management and elevated design basis threats.[10]

Debates

There is a debate about the use of nuclear power.[11][12] Supporters, such as the World Nuclear Association and IAEA, argue that nuclear power is a sustainable energy source that reduces carbon emissions.[13] Additionally, it does not contribute to smog or acid rain. Anti-nuclear opponents, such as Greenpeace International and the Nuclear Information and Resource Service, believe that nuclear power poses threats to people and the environment.[14][15][16]

Recent developments

Pressurized water vessel heads
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Nuclear power.

In 2007, nuclear power plants made some 2600 TWh of electricity and provided 14 percent of the electricity used in the world, which represented a fall of 2 per cent compared with 2006.[17] As of May 9, 2010, there were 438 (372 GW) nuclear reactors operating globally. A peak was reached in 2002 when there were 444 nuclear reactors operating.[17]

The nuclear emergencies at Japan's Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant and other nuclear facilities raised questions about the future of nuclear power.[18][19][20][21][22] Platts has said that "the crisis at Japan's Fukushima nuclear plants has prompted leading energy-consuming countries to review the safety of their existing reactors and cast doubt on the speed and scale of planned expansions around the world".[23] Following the Fukushima nuclear disaster, the International Energy Agency halved its estimate of additional nuclear generating capacity to be built by 2035.[24]

Notes

  1. ↑ [1]
  2. ↑ In Focus: Chernobyl
  3. ↑ The Most Contaminated Spot on the Planet
  4. ↑ Disaster - Series 3
  5. ↑ Social Protest and Policy Change: Ecology, Antinuclear, and Peace Movements p. 44.
  6. ↑ In The Wake of Tokaimura, Japan Rethinks its Nuclear Picture
  7. ↑ Strengthening the Safety of Radiation Sources p. 14.
  8. ↑ Johnston, Robert (September 23, 2007). "Deadliest radiation accidents and other events causing radiation casualties". Database of Radiological Incidents and Related Events.
  9. ↑ The Worst Nuclear Disasters
  10. ↑ Massachusetts Institute of Technology (2011). "The Future of the Nuclear Fuel Cycle" (PDF). p. xv.
  11. ↑ James J. MacKenzie. Review of The Nuclear Power Controversy by Arthur W. Murphy The Quarterly Review of Biology, Vol. 52, No. 4 (Dec., 1977), pp. 467-468.
  12. ↑ In February 2010 the nuclear power debate played out on the pages of the New York Times, see A Reasonable Bet on Nuclear Power and Revisiting Nuclear Power: A Debate and A Comeback for Nuclear Power?
  13. ↑ U.S. Energy Legislation May Be 'Renaissance' for Nuclear Power.
  14. ↑ Share. "Nuclear Waste Pools in North Carolina". Projectcensored.org. Retrieved 2010-08-24.
  15. ↑ NC WARN » Nuclear Power
  16. ↑ Sturgis, Sue. "Investigation: Revelations about Three Mile Island disaster raise doubts over nuclear plant safety". Southernstudies.org. Retrieved 2010-08-24.
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 Nuclear decline set to continue, says report Nuclear Engineering International, 27 August 2009.
  18. ↑ Nuclear Renaissance Threatened as Japan’s Reactor Struggles Bloomberg, published March 2011, accessed 2011-03-14
  19. ↑ Analysis: Nuclear renaissance could fizzle after Japan quake Reuters, published 2011-03-14, accessed 2011-03-14
  20. ↑ Japan nuclear woes cast shadow over U.S. energy policy Reuters, published 2011-03-13, accessed 2011-03-14
  21. ↑ Nuclear winter? Quake casts new shadow on reactors MarketWatch, published 2011-03-14, accessed 2011-03-14
  22. ↑ Will China's nuclear nerves fuel a boom in green energy? Channel 4, published 2011-03-17, accessed 2011-03-17
  23. ↑ "NEWS ANALYSIS: Japan crisis puts global nuclear expansion in doubt". Platts. 21 March 2011.
  24. ↑ "Gauging the pressure". The Economist. 28 April 2011.
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