Joules Magazine
Nuclear Energy
By Liam Vigdor, Sebastian Quintero and Jake Seymour
Table of Contents What is Nuclear?------------------3/4 Fusion vs. Fission---------------------5 Nuclear Energy Uses------------ 7/8 Renewable and Nonrenewable--9 Nuclear Energy in History----11/12 Graph---------------------------------13 Energy Conservation--------------14 Numbers -----------------------------16 Bibliography-------------------------17
What is Nuclear Energy? Nuclear Energy is energy produced through two methods: nuclear fusion and nuclear fission. They require the use of atoms, however, which are tiny objects that make up every object in the universe by either splitting or fusing them to let out a small amount of energy. Additionally, nuclear energy was first discovered by Physicist Enrico Fermi in 1934 when he bombarded uranium atoms together. After doing this, he realized that the product from the reaction was a lot lighter than uranium, meaning that energy was produced. After he discovered it, it allowed for a large development in the use of nuclear energy to help create a more environmentally A plant growing from the sunlight it friendly energy system. receives from the sun.
Nuclear energy being produced in the sun.
Even though humans have been using nuclear energy only since 1934, it has existed for billions of years, with stars being powered through a process known as Stellar nucleosynthesis, where the natural materials in the stars change during nuclear fusion in the core to produce energy to help power the star. This process essentially allowed for life and the solar system to exist because without stars being powered, there would be no source for life to begin as the sun is a necessity for the survival of species whether it is for plants to generate oxygen or for a hospitable environment to be created.
What is Nuclear Energy? How does this happen? As said before, nuclear fusion allows the atoms in the sun to to combine with each other, creating a blast of energy for the sun to use it to power itself. However, different stars have more complex processes in order to generate power. In a small star, it only converts hydrogen into helium. In medium stars, like our sun, when hydrogen becomes depleted, they are able to convert helium to oxygen and carbon. Lastly, in a large star, when their hydrogen becomes depleted, they convert helium atoms into carbon and oxygen, only to soon have the fusion of carbon and oxygen convert into neon, sodium, magnesium, sulfur and silicon. Photo of sun converting nuclear energy and releasing electromagnetic energy.
There are many ways how the natural production of nuclear energy can help sustain life. Firstly, as nuclear energy is produced through fusion in the sun, it is converted into electromagnetic or light energy. From there, the light comes down to earth, where plants can take it in. From this, they are able to use photosynthesis to produce chemical energy. Humans and other aninmals take advantage of this as they are able to harvest this chimceal energy and consume it to help power their bodies. Finally, they use the chemical energy to help regulate their body temperature through being converted into thermal energy or to walk or run by converting it into mechanical energy.
Fusion vs. Fission Fun Facts There are two types of nuclear energy being fusion and fission. This is nuclear fission where a chain reaction occurs.
Fission involves a chain reaction where an unstable atom is split, leading to neutrons escaping and splitting lighter unstable atoms. In the picture, Hiroshima is seen as a nuclear fission bomb, while the Tsar Bomba bomb is a fusion bomb. This Picture shows the significant difference in power which in this case thousands of times more powerful.
This is nuclear fusion where a new element is created.
Fusion involves the fusing of two atoms with different isotopes, transferring to other elements by increasing the quantity of protons. This shows a comparison between significant nuclear bombs tested.
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Nuclear Energy in Uses
This picture shows the process of generating power through nuclear energy.
Although nuclear energy seems like a very rare, uncontrollable, and hard to produce energy, it is actually quite apparent in today’s society. Nuclear energy as said before comes in two forms, being fission and fusion. Nuclear energy can be used in a variety of ways, whether if it is to isolate new elements, power homes, or even advanced warfare. The main problem with nuclear energy is that it exists everywhere, but it is very difficult to collect, store, and use. To conclude, society actually relies on nuclear energy for a lot of fundamental aspects that make up a successful society. First of all nuclear energy is prominent in the power producing industry. For example, it provides almost no pollution, due to its use of water and steam, it is very efficient as it is a cycle of water heating up and cooling, and its results are extremely powerful. Currently only fission is used in power plants which is significantly less effective than fusion, but fusion is simply too complicated at the system out of. Finally, the major drawback of nuclear power is that meltdown’s can lead to extreme environmental destruction where radiation can leak form power plant’s into residencies and nature, causing major health problems and even mutatons. To conclude, over 20 percent of the U.S.’s energy is produced from nuclear energy.
This is CERN in Switzerland.
This picture shows the interior of a nuclear fission bomb and how it works.
Also, nuclear energy is used today in weapons of mass destruction in advanced warfare. Nuclear warfare has been present since the mid 1940’s where the U.S. brought together scientists all over the world to create the first ever fission bomb to use against the Japanese. Fission bombs include a set of smaller chemical explosions being set all around an unstable uranium or plutonium core that undergoes fission from the energy, and as a result releases an extreme amount of energy. Meanwhile, a hydrogen bomb uses tritium and deuterium to fuse together, and unleash, an extreme amount of energy as a weapon. To conclude, nuclear weapons are the future of warfare. Furthermore, nuclear energy is used today in science experiments all over the world in order to study the atom and beyond it. For example, in CERN, Switzerland atoms are expelled to extremely high amounts of energy, so that nuclear energy can be created and studied. These nuclear testing facilities can also help generate new elements through fusion and create different isotopes of elements from fission. To conclude, the study of the atoms helps lead to the betterment of the future.
This picture shows quarks within protons, neutrons, and protons connected by gluons which were discovered from nuclear study.
Renewable and Nonrenewable Nuclear All energy in the world is either renewable, nonrenewable, or both. Renewable energy is a source of energy that is not depleted by use. Nonrenewable energy is a source of energy that is not able to be restored, replaced, recommenced. Nuclear Energy is considered by most to be nonrenewable. This is because nuclear fission uses uranium to create energy. This shows it is nonrenewable because once the uranium is used, it is gone, and uranium won't be around forever.
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Nuclear Energy in History of the World
Old Nuclear Power Plant
Nuclear Energy has been around for a long time and the history of it is fascinating. The bulk of the Nuclear Energy history is between 1895 to 1945. Throughout 1895-1945 the most development on nuclear energy was in the last 6 years due to the United States and other world powers needing the atomic bomb for WW2. Nuclear Energy has many uses and has both helped and hurt the world. Nuclear Energy is very cool and and has a long history. To start, Uranium was discovered in 1789 by Martin Klaproth, A German scientist. In 1895 ionising radiation was discovered by Wilhelm Rontgen. It was discovered by passing an electric current through an evacuated glass tube. According to World Nuclear Association “In 1896 Henri Becquerel found that pitchblende caused a photographic plate to darken.” He later explained how this was because electrons and helium nuclei were being emitted. In addition, a different scientist named Villard found gamma rays from the pitchblende. This phenomenon was later given the name ‘radioactivity’.
Furthermore, Ernest Rutherford found that radioactivity as a spontaneous event created a different element. He went on to develop the understanding of the atom in 1919. Moreover, through to the 1940’s another scientist named Niels Bohr advanced our knowledge of the atom and advanced our understanding of how electrons were arranged in the nucleus. Also, in 1932 James Chadwick discovered the neutron. Moreover, Otto Frisch working under Niels Bohr calculated that splitting an atom would released a large amount of energy called Nuclear Energy. Frisch confirmed this in his experiment in January 1939. In this experiment the scientists were astonished by how much energy the splitting of the atom had. This was just the tip of the iceberg and the world at this point and time were only first discovering what nuclear History of Power Industry energy really was. Uranium Nucleus
Graph This graph represents the annual use of different energy resources to produce electricity around the world and what is being used more since 2000. As one can see, the use of nuclear energy had begun to increase in the early 2000s but began to decrease in 2006 wind the development of wind power being used and considered to be a more efficient and environmentally friendlier energy source.
How Nuclear Energy helps Conserve other types of Energy There are many ways how nuclear energy helps and contributes in energy conservation. Firstly, energy conservation is the reduction of energy consumption through using less of an energy source, usually nonrenewable. One of the most popular energy resources that nuclear energy can substitute for and cause less damage to the environment is fossil fuels as since fossil fuels are used to power devices, facilities and automobiles, nuclear energy could be used as a replacement option as it would be able to power these things as well while still being able to be used more often than fossil fuels. This is because while nuclear energy does take time to be created, it acts as a powerful substitute for fossil fuels as it takes millions of years of pressure for fossils to be converted into materials like coal and oil. Lastly, it would also be better for the environment as fossil fuels release several greenhouse gases that nuclear energy doesn’t and would help to prevent pollution if used. These are some ways how nuclear energy helps with energy conservation.
Oil being dug up from the ground to be used for energy.
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- Every 18
to 24 months, a power plant must shut
down to remove its spent uranium fuel, which becomes radioactive waste.
- Nuclear power plants generate about 20% of U.S. electricity.
- Nuclear energy is being used in more than 30 countries around the world and even power Mars rovers.
- United States power plants produce 2,000 metric tons of radioactive waste every year.
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1 in 5 households and business in the US are electrically powered by nuclear energy
Bibliography 11 Facts About Nuclear Energy. (n.d.). Retrieved May 25, 2016, from https://www.dosomething.org/facts/11-facts-about-nuclear-energy Fusion in Stars - Zoom Astronomy. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www. enchantedlearning.com/subjects/astronomy/stars/fusion.shtml Javascript Required! (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.world-nuclear. org/information-library/current-and-future-generation/outline-historyof-nuclear-energy.aspx (n.d.). Retrieved from http://connection.ebscohost. com/science/nuclear-power/history-nuclear-energy-production