What do you think about nuclear power as a source of electricity? Do you think that this is a good source of energy or not? Throughout history, it is shown that nuclear power can be used as a weapon of mass destruction. However, in 1950 the first nuclear power plant was built using the same materials as a nuclear bomb, how? This essay will talk about how nuclear power will be the next best source of energy.
On 16 July 1942, the first nuclear bomb, Trinity, was detonated in New Mexico. Then two more, Little Boy and Fat Man were dropped on 6 & 9 August 1945 on Nagasaki and Hiroshima. 5 years later, in 1950 the first nuclear reactor to produce consumable electricity, The Experimental Breeder Reactor - I or commonly known as EBR-I. Then two major nuclear meltdowns occurred. On 26 April 1986, the Chernobyl nuclear reactor experienced a meltdown due to a power surge on reactor number 4. Then on 11 March 2011, the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant experienced a meltdown due to a tsunami that failed the backup generator. Nuclear reactors generate electricity by using the fission reaction. The fission reaction is the division of an atomic nucleus into two nuclei and releases an alpha particle. This reaction causes a large amount of energy to be released. There is a way to make a chain effect using this reaction. Using the fission chain reaction, we can make enough electricity to power a house in a matter of seconds. The reaction heats water to a boil and uses its vapor to spin a turbine and creates electricity.
Over the course of history, it is shown that nuclear power is a force to be reckoned with. However, we can use nuclear power to our advantage in a good way. For the last 70 years, we have been using nuclear power and there are reasons why. Here are some reasons why we should use nuclear power as a source of energy. The first reason why nuclear power is a great source of energy is because of its low carbon emission. Nuclear reactors emit little to no carbon which makes them a good low emission energy source. Nuclear power is a much more efficient and cleaner source of energy than fossil fuels. 6 grams of nuclear fuels generate the equivalent energy as 120 gallons of oil and one ton worth of coal, not only are fossil fuels less efficient they have more carbon emissions. When taking into consideration that mining and gathering fossil fuels also releases carbon and other greenhouse gases, this makes nuclear a much better choice. Since radioactive materials are found everywhere, even in outer space. We could invest in space mining to gather the materials needed to fuel the nuclear reactor and gather materials while not releasing greenhouse gases into our atmosphere. The second reason why we should switch to nuclear power is their efficiency and power output. As mentioned before, nuclear energy is a very efficient source of energy compared to fossil fuels, but what about renewable energy sources? Well, nuclear power plants generate more power than many renewable sources. It produces more than double wind energy and threefold from solar energy. Although hydropower does produce more energy than most renewables, it's still only half from nuclear energy. It may seem pretty good, but if you anticipate the expenses, time, and emission. Geothermal is probably the best renewable source. It produces a similar amount of energy. Unfortunately, it releases many greenhouse gases making it unreliable. The last reason why nuclear power is a good source of energy is its life-span. Nuclear power plants usually last for 50-70 years before they are decommissioned. However, nuclear reactors don't have age limits. Reactors get shut down because they are too old or too dangerous. Technically, nuclear reactors can stay for as long as we want as long as we keep high maintenance. R.E. Gina, the smallest nuclear power plant in the United States. It generates around 581 MWH (megawatt per hour) and can power more than 50000 houses. Despite the two major nuclear power plant incidents, if we can make them last longer, we will have a clean energy source for life.
In conclusion, nuclear power is a highly misunderstood topic. Even Though it was used for many bad things in the past, it could be highly beneficial to us and our planet’s well-being. Sometimes we have to find the light amongst the darkness. We are in desperate times and we need to change our ways. Our and many living organisms' survivability lies in our hands, if we don't then we have doomed ourselves. We can put horrible things to good use and help thousands of people if we put those with good intentions.
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