Here’s a short list of nuclear energy facts:
- Nuclear energy is produced by fission, which is the splitting of atoms and the opposite of fusion.
- E=mc^2, Einstein’s famous formula is used in nuclear power to convert an atoms mass to the amount of energy produced when it’s broken up.
- Nuclear reactions take place in fuel rods to control their chain reactions which create heat and then heat water to convert it to steam and power steam turbines.
- A inch long pellet of Uranium 235 has more energy than 1 ton of coal.
- France uses produces over 80% of it’s energy from Nuclear power plants.
- Nuclear energy is was first discovered in 1896 by a French physicists named Henri Becquerel.
- Nuclear energy currently powers 14% of the world.
- The first nuclear power plant was the Obninsk Nuclear Power Plant in the USSR in 1954. It produced 5MW of power.
- The largest nuclear power plant in the world today, produced over 7500 MW of electricity.
- The incident in Chernobyl was the worst in Nuclear energy’s history and was caused by a uncontrolled nuclear chain reaction.
- Nuclear fusion is what keeps the sun shining each day. The fusion is over two hydrogen atoms to produce Helium.
- Nuclear energy has few pollutants and green houses gases but the one waste it produces has led to many problems with it’s storage and containment. Despite the radioactive waste, nuclear energy could be considered a green energy source.
- There are 439 nuclear power plants in the world. 104 of them are in the United States. They generate about 20% of America’s energy demands.
- Living near nuclear power plants exposes you to the same amount of radiation as a single x ray.
- Nuclear power is reliable and consistent and Uranium is found evenly all over the world and prices are relatively stable compared to hydrocarbons.
- Many countries banned the construction of new nuclear power plants after the distaster at the Fukushima nuclear power plant in Japan. As the amount of energy produced by nuclear power each year has been decreasing due to the lack of public support for the projects and technology. Chernobyl and Three Mile island are also still fresh in the minds of many people.
- Nuclear radiation from nuclear plants has not caused any deaths worldwide other than the 50 or so men at Chernobyl.
