The Most Powerful Form of Energy in the Universe - Essay Example

Nuclear Power Charles Gonzales, Ebony Harris, Alnajjar Jassim Environmental Economics Josh Sidon 23nd November 2008 University of Colorado - Denver Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 Nuclear Power 2 Policies in USA, UK and Europe 5 Works Cited 7 Nuclear Power Nuclear energy is the most powerful form of energy in the universe. Only this form of energy can meet the demands of more than 5 billion people living on the Earth. About thirty nations currently use nuclear energy to generate 1/6th world’s electricity (Kragh 1999). There are about five hundred and thirty nuclear power reactors in operation and another ninety six are under construction in the world (Thomas 2005). There are two primary ways of producing nuclear energy and both ways release an enormous amount of heat. One way is to split the nucleus of an atom; this process is called nuclear fission (McCarthy 1983). The other way is to join together or fuse the nuclei of two atoms at a very high temperature. This process is called nuclear fusion and this is the basis of source of energy in sun. At present, the most common method that nuclear power plants use to obtain the energy is through nuclear fission because this is currently the only commercially feasible method (McCarthy 1983). Chemical energy is locked up inside atoms and molecules. An atom is made up of three kinds of particles —protons, neutrons and electrons. The nuclear reactor is the device in which, the fission reaction involving neutrons and nuclear fuel is controlled for the production of heat energy (McCarthy 1983). This heat energy is eventually converted by means of turbines and generator to electrical energy for commercial use (Kragh 1999). A nuclear power plant works in a similar way to an oil-fired or coal-fired power station. The difference between the two types of power plants is in the fuel they use to heat the boilers. Inside a nuclear plant, energy released by nuclear fission in the core of a piece of equipment called the reactor (McCarthy 1983). The energy heats water in the boiler – the water boils and produces steam. This steam turns the huge turbine wheels, and the turbines drive the generator that produces the electricity. Through reprocessing, the fissionable product is recovered from the spent nuclear reaction fuel by chemical dissolution. The spent fuel can be reused by the process of reprocessing. This process generates highly radioactive wastes that must be solidified for final disposal. A nuclear power plant cannot run forever producing nuclear energy but they generally have a life of thirty to forty years after they started (Kragh 1999). France contributes a capacity of nuclear power generation to a total of 74.6 percent; Japan contributes a total of 27 percent; UK contributes a total of 21.7 percent, USA contributes a total of 19.1 percent and Germany contributes a total of 34.3 percent. For electricity generation purposes, France contributes the power of electricity generation to a total of 52.6 percent; Japan contributes a total of 29.3 percent; UK contributes a total of 11.2 percent, USA contributes a total of 98.3 percent and Germany contributes a total of 22.7 percent (Thomas 2005). France is rated as number one in the nuclear capacity as it produces about seventy five percent of its electricity from the nuclear power plants. Market participants of the field of nuclear energy and nuclear power are all the above mentioned countries as they develop and consume nuclear power for energy purposes. USA, UK, France, Japan and Germany are the users of the technology (Kragh 1999). Today, there are five hundred and thirty nuclear power plants in nearly thirty one countries, which are making use of nuclear technology for energy purposes. The usage of nuclear energy and the consumers of nuclear energy are increasing with the passage of time as the countries of the world are realizing the importance of nuclear energy (Thomas 2005). On one side, nuclear energy is employed for positive reasons such as the obtainment of energy for electricity purposes; while on the other side, the production of nuclear energy is also disadvantageous as it can be employed for weapons development (Thomas 2005). A number of other countries such as Algeria, Egypt, Ghana, China, Pakistan, Iran, India, South Africa, Australia, Korea, Syria, Taiwan, Bulgaria, Belgium, Finland, Greece, Ireland, Russia, Brazil and many others have nuclear reactors currently or have intention to build nuclear reactors in the future (Thomas 2005). So, it can be said with authenticity and accuracy that various countries of the world are showing interest towards nuclear technology and are using this technology currently or are intending to make use of this technology in the future (Kragh 1999). Therefore, the technology of nuclear energy has a wide market and is employed by many people and nations for the purposes of energy production. United Kingdom has a total of nineteen reactors for the development of nuclear energy; Argentina has two nuclear reactors; USA has one hundred and four reactors for energy production; Mexico has one reactor; Canada has eighteen reactors; Switzerland has five nuclear reactors; Russia has thirty one reactors; Finland has four nuclear reactors; Taiwan has three nuclear reactors; Pakistan has two nuclear reactors; South Korea has eighteen nuclear reactors; Japan has fifty five nuclear reactors; India has seventeen nuclear reactors and China has ten nuclear reactors (Thomas 2005). Many countries have planning for the construction of nuclear reactors in the near future for energy purposes. Policies in USA, UK and Europe Every country has its own policies related to the nuclear energy and power production on the basis of its needs and requirements for energy. USA, UK and European countries are interested to bring improvement in their nuclear technology and have designed their policies related to nuclear power and technology on the basis of this interest towards more production of nuclear energy (Thomas 2005). The policies in the USA related to nuclear energy concern the increase of the prices related to nuclear energy such as production taxes, insurances and other issues related to nuclear plants production. There has been policy for the development of thirty one more licensed nuclear power production reactors for energy purposes and eighteen nuclear energy units. Nearly six states of United States of America make use of more than fifty percent of electricity produced by means of nuclear power plants (Thomas 2005). There has been safety concerns related to development of energy from nuclear reactors and it is emphasized that safe and secure reactors for nuclear energy should be developed in future.   The policies in United Kingdom related to nuclear energy concern the development of new nuclear plants for production of nuclear energy and the government is interested in development of nuclear plants by non-governmental and private sectors. In their recent policy for nuclear plant development, they have not predicted that at what time in future they will start development but they have kept the option open. UK is also in a problem in relation to manage emission of carbon dioxide due to nuclear energy production (Thomas 2005). The government of UK is considering the development of production plants that are able to generate nuclear energy with less carbon dioxide emission and which is more secure and safe. As far as policies of Europe are concerned in relation to nuclear energy production, there are considerations towards more nuclear energy productions with low emission of gases that should not act as pollutants to the atmosphere. A number of locations are selected for the development of nuclear plants (Thomas 2005). However, with the planning related to nuclear power plants development, there are also considerations towards proliferations as with nuclear technology; there are also developments towards the construction of nuclear power plants not for the production of energy but obtainment of atomic power for security and other issues. In the development of policies for nuclear power plants, there are several proceedings towards the development process as the government of countries are required to sign the treaties related to proliferation purposes. Nuclear energy is very beneficial for electricity generation and its importance is considered all over the world. But there are also some threats associated with the production of nuclear energy, which the governments of countries should consider while setting nuclear power plants. Many countries of the world have the capacity of nuclear power production such as France, Germany, United Kingdom, United States, China, Japan, and others and many are interested in future development of nuclear power plants due to which, the future of nuclear energy production is very bright. Works Cited Kragh, Helge. Quantum Generations: A History of Physics in the Twentieth Century. Princeton NJ: Princeton University Press, 1999. McCarthy, John. Citing Breeder reactors: A renewable energy source, American Journal of Physics 51 (1), (1983). Thomas, Steve. "The Economics of Nuclear Power: analysis of recent studies". PSIRU. UK: University of Greenwich, 2005. Read More