Nuclear Navy and It's Influence on Society - Essay Example

Download file to see previous pages... Today, more than 15% of the world's electricity comes from nuclear power, more than 150 nuclear-powered naval vessels have been built, and a few radioisotope rockets have been produced. As of 2005, nuclear power provided 6.3% of the world's energy and 15% of the world's electricity, with the U.S., France, and Japan together accounting for 56.5% of nuclear generated electricity. As of 2007, the IAEA reported there are 439'nuclear power reactors in operation in the world operating in 31'countries. The United States produces the most nuclear energy, with nuclear power providing 19% of the electricity it consumes, while France produces the highest percentage of its electrical energy from nuclear reactors-78% as of 2006. In the European Union as a whole, nuclear energy provides 30% of the electricity. In comparison, France has a large number of these plants, with 16 multi-unit stations in current use.
"Fission reactions involve the breakup of the nucleus of high-mass atoms and yield an energy release which is more than a million fold greater than that obtained from chemical reactions involving the burning of a fuel. Successful control of the nuclear fission reactions utilizes this intensive source of energy"( Nuclear Power). Enrico Fermi, in 1934 conducted the nuclear fission reaction successfully by bombarding Uranium nucleus ( U235) with fast moving neutrons. Otto Hahn, German chemist in 1938, along with Fritz Strassmann, Lise Meitner and Otto Robert Frisch conducted the same experiments and they found out the chain reaction which causes the liberation of additional neutrons when U235 bombarded with neutrons. The liberated neutrons collide with other uranium nuclei and the process repeated as a chain. In each collision of the neutron with the nucleus, large amount of energy liberated which is multiplied through the chain reaction. The problem the scientists faced was how to control the chain reaction and thereby control the energy liberated. In 1942, in United States, Enrico Fermi and Szilard made the first man made nuclear reactor Chicago Pile -1 which was a part of the famous Manhattan Project.
After the World War 2 the researches on nuclear energy increased and most of them were aimed to use for military purpose. Electricity was generated from a reactor for the first time in 1951. In 1952 President Truman ordered for aggressive research on solar energy instead of nuclear energy. But in 1953 President Eisenhower set the US on a course of strong government support for international use of nuclear power through his famous statement of "Atoms for Peace". Calder Hall nuclear power station in England was the first nuclear power station to
Nuclear '. on Society 3
produce electricity commercially. The Shipping port Atomic Power Station in Shipping port, Pennsylvania was the first commercial reactor in the USA and was opened in 1957.
Admiral Hyman G. Rickover
U.S. Navy was one of the first organizations to develop nuclear power for the purpose of propelling submarines and aircraft carriers. It has a good record in nuclear safety, perhaps because of the stern demands of Admiral Hyman G. Rickover, who was the driving force behind nuclear marine propulsion as well as the Shipping port Reactor. "Admiral, Hyman Rickover, the Father of the ...Download file to see next pagesRead More