Nuclear Power

In 1945, the United States dropped two atomic bombs on the Japanese cites of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, thus ending World War II. Many have believed that to be the first step into the nuclear age. Sadly for them, the nuclear age started long before the bombing of Japan. The element mainly used for nuclear power and weapons, Uranium, was found in 1789 within the Earths crust. When this element is split it can make nuclear power, that can either be used to help mankind or destroy everything. (Giacobello 7) Nuclear power is the cleanest way to get enough energy to meet the demands of the every expanding world.
Everyone experience radiation naturally in their daily life, from the solar flares of the sun to treatments that fight against cancer. Though the isotope U-235 is radioactive, the ability to supply more than enough clean energy for the whole world to use out weighs its dangers. Humans already use nuclear power to provide 20% of our energy (Grunwald), so why not use it for what we would normally use fossil fuels for? “Coal is filthy. Natural gas isn’t exactly clean, and its price is volatile. Solar and wind are intermittent.” (Grunwald)
There are some days when the sun doesn’t shine and the wind doesn’t blow. The price of gas has been rising and the after effect of using it is polluting our air. Nuclear power is always there and all it really does it create steam. Water is run through the core of the reactor where it becomes heated and turns into steam. The steam is used to spin the shaft, inside the turbine, that’s wrapped in a copper wire. The wires move past magnets installed in the turbine. As the wire moves through the magnetic fields it becomes electrically charged. This charge travels along the wire as electrical current leading out of the turbine to other wires that send it out to houses, factories, and offices as electricity. (Giacobello) Once the steam has pasted through the turbine, it’s then condensed into water and cycled back through the reactor.
So, why fear something that only produces steam? Simple: the atomic bombs mushroom cloud. It is a black mark on the nuclear industry and stands out like a mustard stain on a wedding dress. On August 6th, 1945, the atomic bomb, nicknamed “Little Boy”, was dropped on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. It produced an explosion equivalent to 15,000 tons of TNT. 70,000 citizens were proposed dead immediately after the blast. Three days later, the atomic bomb “Fat Man” was dropped on Nagasaki. 40,000 people were initially killed. The first year after the bomb dropped, 70,000 people were claimed dead. 5 years after, the death toll reached around 140,000 people. (Grunwald) That’s quite the black mark for the nukes. Yet those were bombs. They were created to destroy, and that’s just what they did.
Of course the accidents of Pennsylvania’s Three Mile Island in 1977 and the Soviet Union’s Chernobyl in 1986 were terrible. But they were accidents, no one meant for that to happen. You also have to add the fact that they were at a time when the knowledge of nuclear energy was much less than today. Technology has advanced quite a lot within the last 30-50 years. We may not have the flying cars most thought we would; but what we do have is a dirty way of energy. Nuclear energy is clean and far more powerful than coal and other resources combined.
Uranium is a natural resource that is found in the Earth’s crust. There’s plenty of it just lying there, and not much is needed to produce nuclear power. Not all of it is radioactive. “Only about .7% of uranium is the isotope U-235, the isotope needed for fission” (Giacobello) The element is also used in X-rays and other types of medical advances. This includes the radiation treatment for cancer. We also use it in smoke detectors and clocks within our own home. We use it to tell us if there’s fire or if we are running late. Doctors use it to save lives. Farmers use it to help their crops and as a pest control. Uranium is everywhere, so why not use it as a power source? France does, as do many other countries in the Middle East that aren’t as technologically advanced as the U.S.A. In Europe, nuclear and wind power are the safest technologies; while oil and coal are the most dangerous.
Nuclear Power is cheap and clean. Its full power is still unknown, and the fear of radiation poisoning tends to keep people in fear. It’s a dangerous field to study; yet the benefits it has continue to change the way we live our lives. The more we use this energy source, the more we can learn about it. The longer we wait to use it as a power supply the more pollution is caused by burning fossil fuels.
July 16th, 2010 at 07:07pm