Nuclear Energy

Parashu Ram Poudel

Department of Physics, Prithvi Narayan Campus, Pokhara
[email protected]
Abstract: Nuclear energy is the latest energy source to be used on a large scale. It has tremendous potentiality to meet
the growing demand of energy without degrading the environment. Presently the  nuclear fission  of some heavy elements
of the periodic table produces the vast majority of nuclear energy in the direct service of humankind. So nuclear energy
produced by nuclear fission and its impacts are the main focus of this article.
Keywords: Reactor Grade Uranium, Nuclear power plant, carbon-zero, Radioactive Waste
1. INTRODUCTION
Energy is defined as the capacity of doing work. Nuclear energy is one of the most efficient sources
It has been crucial factor to humane survival. The of energy available. It produces more energy than
exploitation of new sources of energy has been any other fuel of the same mass or volume. It does
central to human progress from the early Stone Age not produce any direct air pollution or greenhouse
to today’s technological world to fulfill the need gases. It represents only about 15% of the electricity
for survival. It is the most reliable indicator of a produced worldwide and it represents a very small
country's development. Quality of life is strongly percentage in many countries’ total electricity
correlated with per capita energy consumption. production. But this percentage is likely to go up in
Nature provides energy in many different ways. the coming years. There is an ongoing debate about
The primal source of energy on the earth is the sun. nuclear energy whether it is a safe, sustainable energy
Every substance in nature is a storehouse of energy. source that reduces carbon emissions or a highly
These energies can be extracted following suitable risky and dangerous for human beings.
processes.
2. HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT
Nuclear energy is the energy that comes from the A German chemist named Martin Heinrich Klaproth
nucleus of an atom. It is released by a nuclear is credited for discovering uranium in 1789. Later it
reaction either through nuclear fission or nuclear was named after the planet Uranus, the Greek God of
fusion. In fact the universe is powered by nuclear the sky. However, Eugene Melchor Peligot was the
energy and the life on this earth oweds its existance first person who isolated the metal in 1841. Wilhelm
and the sustenance to the sun which shines brightly Rontgen had discovered ionizing radiation in 1895
receiving copios of energy from nuclear fusion. In by passing an electric current through an evacuated
nuclear fission the energy is released by splitting glass tube and produced continuous X-rays.
the nucleus of a heavy atom into two more or less
equal fragments by a neutron blasting through the In 1896 Henri Becquerel found that pitchblende
nucleus. This makes other neutrons fly off at high that contained radium and uranium actually caused
speeds. Eventually, it establishes a chain reaction. a photographic plate to become dark. He went on
Nuclear fusion is the opposite term by which the to demonstrate that this was due to the emission
nuclei of two or more lighter atoms fuse together to of beta radiation and alpha particles. Villard found
form a heavier one. In both processes mass is lost a third type of radiation from pitchblende. It was
and this is then converted into energy according to gamma rays, which were the same as X-rays. Then
Einstein’s famous mass energy equivalent relation in 1896, Pierre and Marie Curie gave the name
E=mc2. The energy released is then converted 'radioactivity' to this phenomenon. Radium was later
into heat which can be used to drive a turbine and used in medical treatment. In 1898, Samuel Prescott
generate electricity. showed that radiation destroyed bacteria in food
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successfully used this energy in a chain reaction to
In 1902, Ernest Rutherford showed that create nuclear bombs. Immediately after the end
radioactivity as a spontaneous event does emit an of World War II, the newfound energy source was
alpha or beta particle from the nucleus to create a used in the nuclear navy. It provided submarines an
different element. He went on to develop a fuller amazing capacity to run its engines for over a year
understanding of atoms and in 1919, he fired alpha without refueling. During 1939-40 development
particles from a radium source into nitrogen. In of atomic bomb was focused. From 1945 attention
this way he found that nuclear rearrangement was was given to harnessing this energy in a controlled
occurring with the formation of oxygen. fashion for naval propulsion and making electricity.
Since 1956 prime focus has been on the technological
Niels Bohr was another scientist who enlarged our evolution of reliable nuclear power plants. In later
understanding of the atom. By 1911, Frederick Soddy years, this technology was quickly transferred to the
discovered that natural-radioactive elements had a public sector where commercial power plants were
number of different isotopes (radionuclide). In 1911, developed. Main events are summarized in points in
George de Hevesy showed that such radionuclides the timeline given below:
were invaluable as tracers, because minute amounts
could readily be detected with simple instruments. Timeline of the Development of Nuclear Energy
In 1932, James Chadwick discovered the neutron. 1789- Martin discovered Uranium
Also in 1932, Cockcroft and Walton produced 1895- Roentgen discovered X-rays
nuclear transformations by bombarding atoms with 1896- Becquerel discovered rays emitted
accelerated protons. Likewise, in 1934 Irene Curie spontaneously from uranium salts
and Frederic Joliot found that such transformations 1898-The Curies identified two radioactive
created artificial radionuclides. The next year Enrico nuclides, coin term "radioactive"
Fermi found that a much greater variety of artificial 1899- Rutherford distinguished alpha and
radionuclides could be formed when neutrons were beta radiation and discovered half-life
used instead of protons. 1909- Rutherford discovered that most mass
is concentrated in a small nucleus
Fermi continued his experiments. He mostly 1920- Rutherford theorized a "neutron"
produced heavier elements from his targets but also 1935- Chadwick identified neutrons
with uranium. Some of them were much lighter ones.  1938- Hann and Strassman split uranium
At the end of 1938, Otto Hahn and Fritz Strassmann atoms with neutrons, Meitner and Frisch
in Berlin showed that the new lighter elements explained what's happening and name it
were barium and others were about half the mass of "fission"
uranium. This has proved that an atomic fission had 1939- Fermi and Szilard measured neutron
occurred. Lise Meitner and her nephew, Otto Frisch, multiplication, concluded that a nuclear
worked under Niels Bohr and explained that the chain reaction is possible
neutron was captured by the nucleus. Actually due to 1939- Szilard, Wigner, and Teller convinced
extreme vibration, it caused the nucleus to split into Einstein to sign a letter warning Roosevelt of
two parts. They calculated the energy release from possibility of nuclear weapons
this fission which were about 200 million electron 1939- Roosevelt authorized creation of
volts. Frisch confirmed this figure in January Advisory Committee on Uranium, begins US
1939. This was the first experimental confirmation of nuclear bomb effort (though not vigorously)
Albert Einstein's paper that suggested the equivalence 1942- Fermi achieved first nuclear chain
between mass and energy. In the 1930s and 40s, this reaction in a squash court at U. of Chicago.
energy was largely used as military weapons by Manhattan project in full swing. Secret cities
technically advanced nations. The Manhattan Project are built in Oak Ridge TN (to enrich uranium),
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Hanford WA (to produce plutonium), and Los suffer core meltdowns, hydrogen explosions.
Alamos NM (to design and assemble bomb) Radiation release estimated 10-30% of
July 1945- The world's first nuclear weapon Chernobyl. Zero people's health affected by
tested, the Trinity shot, was successful dose, but land was evacuated
Aug 6 & 9, 1945- Atomic bombs Little Boy 2013- Climate guru James Hansen published
and Fat Man dropped on Japanese cities, paper claiming nuclear has saved 1.8 million
Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Up to 240,000 lives total (including worst-case estimates
people died. for all accidents) by offsetting air-pollution
Aug 15, 1945- Japan surrendered related deaths
unconditionally, ending WWII. 2013- Voyager I entered interstellar space
1951- EBR-1 reactor was the first to generate after traveling the solar system for 36
electricity in Arco. years. It was powered by a Plutonium-238
1953- Eisenhower gave Atoms for Peace radioisotopic thermal generator
speech, launching civilian program
1954- Obninsk reactor in the Soviet Union 3. ENERGY DENSITY OF VARIOUS FUEL SOURCES
become the first commercial nuclear power The energy density is the energy stored in a unit mass
plant of the substance. The amount of energy released in
1954- USS Nautilus launched, the first nuclear reactions is astounding. The natural uranium
nuclear-powered submarine undergoes nuclear fission and thus attains very high
1957- Shippingport reactor began operation, energy density. Table below shows energy density
first commercial nuclear power of various sources.
1974- French Prime Minister Messmer
launched huge nuclear power program Energy 100W light
in response to oil crisis. In 2004, 75% of Material Density bulb time
France's electricity was nuclear (MJ/kg) (1kg)
1979- Three Mile Island reactor suffered Wood 10 1.2 days
a partial meltdown. Radiation largely
Ethanol 26.8 3.1 days
contained Created by hatisnuclear.com.
Coal 32.5 3.8 days
1986- Chernobyl reactor suffered a large
power excursion resulting in the release of Crude oil 41.9 4.8 days
large amounts of radiation. 50+ fire fighters Diesel 45.8 5.3 days
die, up to 4000 civilians estimated to have Natural Uranium
died of early cancer (>99.2% U-235 & 5.7x105 182 years
1986- EBR-II reactor demonstrated that 0.72% U235)
advanced, sodium cooled reactors can Reactor Grade
3.7x106 1,171years
passively shut down without backup systems Uranium (3-4%U-235)
1994- Megatons to Megawatts program Table 1. Energy densities of various energy sources. All
started, turns 20,000 nuclear weapons into numbers assume 100% thermal-to-electrical conversion.
electricity. By 2000, ~10% of US electricity
came from dismantled Russian warheads 4. NUCLEAR POWER STATIONS  IN THE WORLD
2004- After decades of electricity generation Just as many conventional thermal power
with no deaths in the US, a Nuclear stations generate electricity by harnessing
Renaissance discussed, with talks of more the thermal energy, nuclear power plant converts
reactor builds to offset carbon emissions the energy released from the nucleus of an atom
2011- Four reactors at Fukushima Daiichi via fission that takes place in a nuclear reactor.
losed backup generators due to tsunami and Major components of a nuclear reactor are Core,
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Coolants, Control rods, Moderators, Steam 12 Spain 7,121 19.7%

Generator and Turbine Generator. The heat is 13 Belgium 5,927 52.1%
removed from the reactor core by a cooling 14 India 5,308 3.5%
system that uses the heat to generate steam which 15 Taiwan 5,032 19.1%
then used to run turbine to produce electricity.
A figure below shows a nuclear power plant. 5. ADVANTAGES OF NUCLEAR ENERGY
Clean Energy: Nuclear energy can produce
electricity without greenhouse gases in the
atmosphere. That means nuclear energy produces
electricity without causing pollution. It is cleaner
than many other forms of energy produced today.
Essentially, nuclear power would be “carbon-zero”
if they are stored and transported in a more efficient
way.

High Quantities: Nuclear reaction can produce a

Fig 1: A nuclear power station (Grafenrheinfeld Nuclear million times more energy as compared to hydro
Power Plant, Grafenrheinfeld, Bavaria, Germany). The
or wind energy. Only a single power plant has the
nuclear reactor is contained inside the spherical containment
building in the center - left and right are cooling towers, which capacity to produce a large quantity of energy. Since
are common cooling devices. it does not use fossil fuel, hence it will obviously
decrease our dependency on oil. 
There are 31 countries in the world where currently
nuclear power stations are operated. A number High Reserves: Nuclear reactors use uranium as fuel
of new reactors are being built in China, South and produces huge amounts of energy. The Earth has
Korea, India, and Russia. Of the 31 countries where the high reservoir of uranium. It is believed that the
nuclear power plants are operated, only France and earth has abundance store of uranium that can last
for several years. Moreover, other fuel cycles like
Belgium  use nuclear energy as the primary source
Thorium are also available for power generation.
of electricity.  The major fifteen countries of the
Whereas, oil reserves and other fossil type fuels are
world, which operate nuclear power, are as follows:
likely to run out shortly.
Table-2 Major countries of the world, which are
operating nuclear power.
Reliability: Nuclear power plants operate reliably
Nuclear share of and have a continuous output of power. The energy
Capacity
electricity level is not affected by the weather conditions,
Rank Country (MW)
production, unpredictable costs, or foreign supplies. One of the
(2014)
2013 special features of this plant is that it can run for
1 USA 99,081 19.4% about 500 to 700 days continuously, before they are
2 France 63,130 73.3% shut down for refueling. The plants do not generally
3 Japan 42,388 17.1%
face operations and maintenance problems. This is
4 Russia 23,643 17.5%
5 South Korea 20,721 27.6% a contrast to other alternative energies, which are
6 China 17,978 2.1% highly affected by the influence of weather.
7 Canada 13,538 16.0%
8 Ukraine 13,107 43.6% Low Operating cost: Nuclear energy produces
9 Germany 12,068 15.4% electricity at a competitive price and it is generally
10 Sweden 9,474 42.7% compared with coal plants. It is sustainable and can
11 UK 9,243 18.3% be harnessed for several years from now. Although
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nuclear power reactors are expensive to build, they nuclear energy as a whole saved millions of lives by
are relatively cheaper to operate. Let's not forget offsetting the air pollution related death that come
that the supply of fuel is limited and therefore it has from fossil fuel plant.
always been expensive. A plant can be operated by
small number of people. Reduces the dependency on fossil fuels: Owing
to increased volume of transportation, there is an
Concentration: The nuclear energy is by far increased demand of fossil fuels like oil and gases
the most concentrated form of energy. It can be in the world. Because of this, its stock is rapidly
produced in large quantities even in a short period. running out. In contrast, nuclear energy requires very
It has wonderful capacity to generate high amount little quantity of fuel to produce large quantities of
of electrical energy for the power plants. energy. For instance, one ton of uranium can produce
energy that is more than several million tons of
Low Waste: It generates less wastages overall than coal and oil. The rise in oil prices and the increased
other energy plants.  The wastes resulting from the concern about environmental protection from CO2
operation of all nuclear power plants produce not emission have promoted attraction to the use of
more than 10,000 tones of spent fuel, a small amount nuclear power as viable energy source of generation.
compared to other energy sources. If the electricity
is generated by the combution of coal it would result USES OF NUCLEAR ENERGY
in millions of tons of SO2, in addition to billion tons Despite some risks, nuclear energy is much safer to
of CO2 and poisons heavy metals. At the same time, be used to achieve many desired results. It can be
nuclear waste is more easily disposable than fossil used in diversified fields from peaceful purposes to
fuel wastes.  electricity generation or medicinal manufacturing.
In the recent past, there has been great advancement
Location: A nuclear plant does not depend on in using nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.
local sources like oil and coal and can be set up in
convenient places. It also does not require a lot of Food Irradiation: Food irradiation kills bacteria,
space to set up and the power does not have to be insects and parasites that can cause food born
transferred over long distances. diseases such as salmonella, trichinosis and cholera.
In addition to killing bacteria, irradiation can retard
Knowledge: Nuclear power development has spoilage and increase the shelf life of food. The
multiple uses and advantages. Its systematic study doses needed for those purposes are too low to
can provide knowledge to open many doors of destroy diseases causing bacteria. Food irradiation
possibilities.  does not make the food radioactive, and it does not
change the food any more than canning or freezing.
Environmental Safety: The process to generate
nuclear energy is one of the cleanest processes. It has Agriculture: In agriculture radiation helps breed
least impacts on the environment because nuclear new seed varieties with higher yields. Agricultural
plants do not emit harmful gases like carbon dioxide, researcher also use radiation to develop hundreds
nitrogen oxide and sulphur dioxide. However, the of varieties of harder, more disease resistant
conventional electricity power plants emit harmful crops including peanuts, tomatoes, onions, raisin,
gases, which threaten atmosphere by increasing soyabeans, barley etc.; To improve the nutritional
global warming. The energy produced from nuclear value of some crops, as well as to improve their
plants is 'emission-free’. Since it requires little land baking or melting qualities to reduce their cooking
to run the plant, there is no need to encroach forest time; and to show how plants absorb fertilizer
to make additional land. There are no adverse effects which helps researchers to learn when to apply them
on land, water, and air resources. It is claim that and its quantity. Leading organizations have been
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working on the technology to increase agricultural Power in Sea: Nuclear Power is particularly suitable
production, improve food availability, reduce for vessels which nead to be at sea for long period
production costs and minimize pollution of food without refuling. These vessels (ships/submarines)
crops. The major ongoing advancement is Sterile have a small nuclear reactor on board, which produces
Insect Technique (SIT) that helps in large-scale food steam to run turbines. These turbines directly drive
irrigation and biological control of pests. the propellers as well as electrical generators.
Today, a large number of nuclear-powered ships and
Human Health:An application of radiotherapy has been submarines are cruising the oceans.
proved highly successful to treat cancer patients. At the
same time a small amount of radioisotope tracer is used Power Generation: The most important use
for diagnostic and research purposes. The radioisotopes of nuclear energy is to generate electricity. The
help in detecting various enzymes, hormones and energy released by the fission in a nuclear reactor is
many other substances present in the human blood. converted and generated into electricity. Besides this
These techniques have also helped in monitoring during the process of decaying, the radioisotopes
the levels of toxic substances in food, air and water. emit lots of energy. This energy is used to control the
heart pacemaker to provides power to the satellites
Sterilization: Gamma emissions are much popular for navigation.
for the sterilization of medical supplies like cotton,
bandages, gloves, syringes, burn dressings, etc. Industry: Nuclear energy is being used in industries
which help to prevent the spread of diseases. for processing and producing various products
Exposing these materials to radiation does not make such as automobile, aircraft, mining, oil refinary,
them radioactive. construction, etc. Nowadays the gamma rays
emitted by the radioisotopes are used to check the
Tracing Pollutants: Radioisotopes are used to trace leakages from the gas and oil pipelines, blockage in
the pollutants present in air. Even in small amount of water pipes. The radioactive source is placed inside
the radioisotope presents in air can be very harmful the pipe and the film outside the welds. This is so
to humans. Hence, the tracing quality helps to detect convenient that it can be used in place of X-ray
the residue easily. This way it ensures a healthy and equipment.
safe environment.
Use in Scientific Research: Researchers in the fields
Determination of Age: The nuclear energy has of science use nuclear radiation and radioisotopes in
also been used by the archaeologists, geologists and their work. Safety and effectiveness of new drugs
anthropologists in determining the age of rocks, are tested with radioisotopes. Radioisotopes are also
insects, and fossils. essential to the biomedical research that seeks causes
and cores for many diseases such as cancer, AIDS,
Power in Space: Nuclear power has been actively etc. Researchers also use radioisotopes in metabolic
used to provide power for the missions in space. studies, genetic engineering and environment
Unmained space craft relay on radioisotope protection.
thermoelectric generator (RTG) for the power they
need for space exploration. RTG use heat from 6. DISADVANTAGES OF NUCLEAR ENERGY
plutonium to generate electricity. They are safe, Nuclear Weapons Threat: Nuclear proliferation
reliable and long lived even in the harse climate of has posed a serious threat to the world peace.
our solar system. The craft uses this electricity to There are some reactors, which produce plutonium.
run the computer and collect the vast area of data This substance can be used to make lethal nuclear
including images that are send back to earth. weapons. It is only due to a huge stock of nuclear

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weapons the world civilization has come under a

serious threat. The world has already witnessed the Terrorism: Nuclear plants are vulnerable targets of
ruthless devastation of nuclear power on Hiroshima terrorists. They always look for an opportunity to
and Nagasaki. damage such plants. That's why these terrorists want
to attack the plant and cause more human casualties.
High Capital Investment: Nuclear Plants require a If anything like this happens, this might lead to a
high level of technology and a major initial capital horrific disaster. Not only terrorists but also enemy
investment. Its abandonment cost is also very high. nation might carry a military attack to cause serious
damage to these nuclear energy plants.
Long Gestation Period: It takes about 15-20 years
to develop a single plant. It requires extensive Nuclear Accidents: New technologies have been
planning and careful observation. introduced to make sure that no disaster should
occur in nuclear plants. However, we cannot forget
Radioactive Waste: The nuclear wastes contain about an accident that had taken place at Chernobyl
radioisotopes, which stay in the atmosphere for a and more recently in Fukushima. Let's not forget
long period. These reactive substances have acute that even a small radiation could be the cause of
capacity to contaminate the surrounding atmosphere devastative effects. It has been found that people
to a great deal. The mixed wastes cause hazardous who work at nuclear power plants or live near those
chemical reactions, which can lead to dangerous areas are at high risk of facing nuclear radiations.
medical complications. The waste produced by nuclear
reactors needs to be disposed off at a safe place. A bit Nuclear Radiation: High dose nuclear radiation
of carelessness could be the cause of serious radiations. is very harmful if leaked out to the environment.
The storage of radioactive waste has become a serious Ionising radiation affects health causinng the
problem even to before the experts. Until now, the change in the cell of the human body. It does this
radioactive wastes are buried under sand and the by breaking the chemical bonds that hold together
process is known as verification. There are issues groups of atoms called molecules. For example
with management of radioactive waste. The spent DNA molecules, which contains a person's genetic
fuel is highly radioactive and therefore such wastes information, control the chemical and physical
have to be carefully stored for many years after use. functions of human cells. Damage to DNA molecule
affects the ability of the cells to do their work and to
Disasters, Accidents & Risk: Even a minor accident pass information to new cell.
in the nuclear plant may cause a major disaster. It
could be the result of massive human casualties. The 7. PROBLEMS WITH NUCLEAR POWER
radiation stays for longer time in the atmosphere that Safety issues: Until today, three major accidents
could be the cause of serious medical complications have already occurred in the commercial power
to the loss of life. If we look back in the past, there plants: Chernobyl, Three Mile Island, and
was an explosion of a reactor at Chernobyl Nuclear Fukushima. Chernobyl was an uncontrolled steam
Power Plant in Ukraine. It had massive effects as the explosion, which released a large amount of radiation
radiation melted the core of a reactor at Three-Mile into the environment. The accident took the lives of
Island in the United States. over 30 people. The government had to evacuate the
city dwellers to a safe place. Later, due to radiation
Non-renewable energy: Nuclear energy is an in the atmosphere over 2000 cancer cases had been
alternative energy, but not a renewable energy. reported. Three Mile Island case was a partial-core
Uranium is a non-renewable source of energy and meltdown. The coolant levels dangerously dropped
its supply is limited. below the fuel and allowed some fuel to melt down.
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In this accident, no one was hurt and very little nuclear energy is the most viable solution of energy
radiation was released. Nevertheless, the plant had to problems, and is very safe when used properly. Many
be shut down. This caused massive financial loss to countries have used nuclear energy for their economic
the investors. An enormous Tsunami wrecked havoc development. The power of nuclear energy must be
as it badly damaged Fukushima nuclear plant. Four used for the betterment of the world. It depends upon
active plants lost their cooling system and the heat humans to make nuclear energy a boon for allround
melted the cores and caused radiation. The Japanese development of human civilization. Without doubt,
government swung into action and transported all nuclear energy can successfully replace fossil fuels
the people from the area to a safe place. These three in days to come. With the help of modern technology
accidents are very scary and keep many people from and understanding, we will someday be able to use
being comfortable with nuclear power. nuclear energy in everyday life.

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