Adam+Zwick

   Nuclear Power By Ben Kelley and Adam Zwick **Introduction**

Nuclear power is a clean, alternative fuel source that involves the generation of heat through the splitting of [|Uranium] or [|Plutonium] atoms, which is then used to produce steam and turn a turbine. Since the late 1950s, nuclear power has been a realistic source of clean energy for commercial use in the world. Today, nuclear power accounts for about fourteen percent of the world's energy production, and is produced in 436 nuclear power plants operating in 30 different nations.(Nuclear Energy) Despite the benefits of this method of energy production, there is still concern over the methods of dealing with nuclear waste, and the danger associated with the possibility of a [|melt-down]. **History** The first experiments in splitting atoms were done by physicist [|Enrico Fermi] in 1934. During these early experiments, Fermi discovered that it was possible for a neutron to split an atom of uranium, and in the process release heat energy. Later experiments completed by German scientists [|Otto Hahn] and [|Fritz Strassman] proved that when neutrons were used to split atoms of uranium, other, lighter elements (such as [|Barium]) would be left over in the materials. The rest of the mass from the original uranium atoms had been released as heat energy. In 1941, Fermi and his associates announced the first plans for a nuclear reactor, which would harness the heat released and convert it into energy. The [|Chicago Pile-1]//,// the words first nuclear reactor, had it's debut on December 2, 1942, and was the first self-sustaining nuclear reaction. After World War II, the United States commissioned the [|Manhattan Project], which was intended to bring nuclear power to the forefront of commercial energy production. By December of 1979, there were 249 nuclear reactors producing 128,000 million watts of energy for twenty-two different nations. (The History)

**Process** The process of creating usable energy in nuclear power plants begins with the [|fission] of radioactive elements, such as [|uranium], [|plutonium], or [|thorium]. (Lipper) These elements are bombarded with neutrons, which causes their atoms to split, releasing heat, more neutrons, and smaller particles of their respective elements. In this way, nuclear power is considered a self-sustaining method of energy production, meaning that even as energy is being produced, more potential for production is also forming. Natural uranium, the element that is most commonly used in nuclear fission, is most commonly found in the [|U-235] and [|U-238] isotopes, with U-238 represents 99.3% of uranium found. U-238, however, is mostly useless for generating nuclear energy, while it's counterpart U-235 is much more reactive to the process. Through the process of combining left over U-235 from previous nuclear reactions with new sources of U-235 (aka Enriching Uranium), the percentage has been increased to between 4 and 5 percent. After about two years, the U-235 fuel rods in the reactor have released their capacity of energy, and have to be replaced. (McCarthy) The heat that is produced during the reaction is then used to boil water and create steam, which is then used to turn a turbine and generate electricity, which can be distributed commercially.

media type="youtube" key="tQa4LONy9XM" height="344" width="425"media type="youtube" key="igf96TS3Els" height="327" width="453"  The nuclear power industry is currently working to improve reactors and make the nuclear energy process more reliable, safe, and economically efficient. These new reactors will reduce the risk of human error, offer protection agaisnt radiation leakage, and have a longer life span than the power plants of today. Uranium, which is important to the production of nuclear energy, is currently abundant in the Earth's crust but mining at it will eventually leave none remaining. Seawater, however, contains large amounts of uranium and would be a nearly endless supply of teh substance. Scienisist are currently working on ways to carry out the process of getting the uranium out of ocean water. If an efficient way to perform this process is discovered, than there would be enough uranium for all the nations in the world. Research is being done in a Russian nuclear reactor, the [|Tokamek], to produce energy through nuclear [|fusion]. Fusion would produce more energy than the current process of nuclear fission, and is does not require the use of radioactive substances such as uranium. Scientists are also considering ways to decrease the problem of nuclear waste, and ideas such as shooting the waste into space, burying it under the sea floor and [|nuclear transmutation] are all being considered. The most promising of these is nuclear transmutation which involved transforming radiactive waste into nonradiactive waste.(Giacobello)
 * The Future of Nuclear Energy**

**Climate Change and the Environment** Electricity generation is one of the main contributors to global greenhouse gas emissions because of the large amounts of fossil fuels used to generate this electricity. Nuclear energy, however, can be used to produce large amounts of electricity without releasing greenhouse gases into the atmosphere with little harm to the environment. In 1995, electric utilities emissions of carbon dioxide globally were thirty-two percent lower than if fossil fuels had been used to produce the same amount of energy. Today, nuclear energy accounts for 7 percent of the worlds primary energy and 17 percent of the worlds electricity, avoiding the emission o f about 2 billion tons of carbon dioxide annually.(Issues) There is a also a downside to to affects that nuclear energy production has on the environment. A typical reactor will produce somewhere between 20 and 30 tons of high-level nuclear waste annually. [|Plutonium-239], one of the lethal components of nuclear waste, will remain hazardous for at least 240,000 years.(Prevents) Currently, there is no way to eliminate the nuclear waste produced, and burying it deep underground is the only disposal method being considered by the department of energy. There have also been several accidents with nuclear reactors one of which was the Chernobyl accident which occured in 1986 in the former U.S.S.R. and was the result of 58 people bring killed on site, as well as hundred of injuries and thousands of cancer deaths.(Angelo) The fallout from the explosion was found in countries as far as 1400 miles away. Another incident was caused by human error in 1979 in the United States where the the The Three Mile Island reactor resulted in the contamination of surrounding areas, increased cases of cancer, and plant mutation.(Issues) <span style="font-size: 95%; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">

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<span style="font-size: 120%; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">**Works Cited**

Angelo, Joseph A. __Nuclear Technology (Sourcebooks in Modern Technology)__. New York: Greenwood P, 2004.

Giacobello, John. __Nuclear Power of the Future New Ways of Turning Atoms into Energy (The Library of Energy of the Future)__. New York: Rosen Group, 2003.

"The History of Nuclear Energy." __DOE - Office of Nuclear Energy__. U.S. Department of Energy. 23 Mar. 2009 <http://www.nuclear.gov/pdfFiles/History.pdf>.

"Issues: Nuclear Energy & Waste: Nuclear Energy Fact Sheet." __Nuclear Age Peace Foundation__. 24 Mar. 2009 <http://www.wagingpeace.org/menu/issues/nuclear-energy-&-waste/nuclear-energy-fact-sheet.htm>.

Lipper, Ilan, and Jon Stone. "Nuclear Energy and Society." __Nuclear Energy__. University of Michigan. 23 Mar. 2009 <http://www.umich.edu/~gs265/society/nuclear.htm>.

McCarthy, John. "Frequently Asked Questions about Nuclear Energy." __Nuclear Energy is the most certain future source__. 17 Oct. 1995. Stanford University. 23 Mar. 2009 <http://www-formal.stanford.edu/pub/jmc/progress/nuclear-faq.html>.

"Nuclear Energy Institute - World Statistics." __Nuclear Energy Institute - Clean-Air Energy__. Nuclear Energy Institute. 23 Mar. 2009 <http://www.nei.org/resourcesandstats/nuclear_statistics/worldstatistics/>.

"Nuclear Energy Prevents Emissions of CO2." __International Nuclear Forum - Nuclear Energy and Climate Change__. 24 Mar. 2009 <http://www.climatechange.org/eandc2.htm>. <span style="font-size: 120%; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">**Attributions** Who Done It.

Ben Did Introduction, History, Process Adam Did Future and Climate Change