ATOMIC POWER GENERATION

Atomic Power Generation in the past, present and future Landon Kraczek Luke Smith Danielle Niitsuma Lidya Asfaw Katelyn Grey Physics 1010 Salt Lake Community College

Power Plant A nuclear power plant (also referred to us a generating station) is a Thermal power station in which the heat source is a nuclear reactor. As is typical in all conventional thermal power stations the heat is used to generate steam which drives a steam tribune connected to a generator which produces electricity. At the center of nearly all power stations is a generator, a rotating machine that converts mechanical power into electrical power by creating relative motion between a magnetic field and a conductor. Nuclear power constitutes a large chunk of power required to produce electricity across the world. With incidents like the Chernobyl disaster leaving some important lessons for us to learn from, all the necessary precautions are taken to make sure that the modern nuclear power plants are properly operated ensuring optimum safety. In fact as one of the safety measures the whole plant is encased within a very thick dome shaped structure. These power plants can be differentiated on the basis of methods used to transfer in the reactors to the electricity generation unit. How do Nuclear Power Plants Work? Nuclear power plants are powered by Uranium. In a process known as nuclear fission, uranium atoms are split to produce large amount of energy which is eventually converted to heat. The enormous amount of heat created, boils the water to produce steam, which is used to rotate turbines. These turbines in-turn spin the shaft of the generator. As the generator gets into action, the coils of wire within the generator are spun in a magnetic field to produce electricity. A nuclear reactor maintains and controls the nuclear reaction within the plant to produce energy. There are various types of nuclear reactors, such as Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR), Boiling Water Reactor (BWR), Pressurized Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR), Advanced Gas-cooled Reactor (AGR), etc.

Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR) In pressurized water reactors, ordinary water is used as the moderator as well as coolant. The primary

cooling circuit, flows through the core of the reactor under a high pressure, while the steam generated in the secondary circuit drives the turbines. Water in the core of the reactor tends to reach a temperature of 325 degree Celsius; therefore it has to be kept under about 150 times atmospheric pressure, in order to prevent it from boiling.

Pressurized Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR) In pressurized heavy water reactors, the moderator is located in a large tank known as calandria. This tank is penetrated by horizontal pressure tubes which act as fuel channels. The calandria is cooled by the flow of high pressure heavy water in primary cooling circuit. The steam, which drives the turbines, is generated in the secondary circuit. Owing to its pressure tube design, the reactor can be refueled, by isolating each pressure tube from the cooling circuit, without shutting down the reactor. Boiling Water Reactor (BWR) In boiling water reactors, the top part of the core operates with approximately 15% water as steam. This steam goes directly to the turbines via drier plates located above the core. In these reactors, the water around the core is most often contaminated, with radionuclides. Therefore, the turbines have to be shielded by radiological protection during maintenance of the nuclear fission power plant. The expenditure saved, owing to the simple design on this nuclear reactor is spent on this shielding activity, thus balancing the expenditure incurred. In the United States, pressurized water reactors and boiling water reactors are used in nuclear power plants. Though there exist a few security concerns about the operations of these plants, they are necessary as an alternative energy source to cope up with the ever-increasing energy requirements. Owing to low levels of emission, this cost-effective source of power is steadily becoming a popular source. It is estimated that the use of nuclear energy for the production of electricity will increase by 20%, by 2030.

Generation About 80% of the electricity in the U.S. is generated by private ("investor-owned") utilities. The remaining electricity is produced by federal agencies such as the Tennessee Valley Authority, the Bonneville Power Administration and the Power marketing Administration of the Department of energy, municipal utilities and utility cooperatives. The largest private electric producers in the United States include: AES Corporation Southern company,42GW American Electric Power, 38GW Duke Energy, 36GW Luminant, 18GW Reliant Energy, 14GW

Pros and cons of Power plants 1. Advantages 1 kg of fuel of uranium gives energy equivalent 3,000 tons of high grade coal. Therefore in

nuclear power plant the amount of fuel required is very less compared to conventional thermal power plant. Transportation and storage of the fuel is easier. Fossil fuel reserves depleting at higher rate. Therefore the cost of electricity production through

coal and oil reserves increases per kilowatt hour compared to nuclear power plant, i.e., operational cost of nuclear plant is cheaper Nuclear power plants do not emit greenhouse gases in to atmosphere unlike thermal power

plants. Therefore nuclear power is clean and environmental friendly Nuclear power plants require little space compared to thermal power plant for the same MW

output. Thermal plants require lot of space for coal storage, handling and ash pond. The fuel storage in nuclear plant requires less space and spent fuel coming out of the reactor is stored in small water tank. Nuclear fuel is available in plenty amount all over the world. Therefore fuel supply to plants

will be continuing for hundreds of years. The output efficiency of nuclear plants is higher compared to thermal power plants and cost of

electricity produced per unit is cheaper. Nuclear reactors such as breeder reactors will breed the fuel in reactor; over a period of time of

operation of reactor the amount of fuel provided into the reactor will be equal to the fuel given output from the reactor. This is possible by converting fertile material to fissile material inside the reactor. Nuclear plants always operate as base load plants. Therefore plant availability factor and load

factor of the plant is quite high. 2. Disadvantage In Nuclear plants safety is primary concern rather producing electricity. There is significant risk

of leakage of radiation in case of any accident. The fission by products released is generally radioactive and pollute the land, water, atmosphere and other natural resources. The land around the plant is considered as no man land for living for at least thousands of years During shutdown of the reactor, decay heat is still produced from the reactor due to fission

daughter products. This decay heat constitutes around 8 to 10% of the reactor power. For example consider reactor have a power of 500MW, decay heat generated from the reactor will be of the order of 40 to 50MW. This heat is to be continuously removed from the reactor else there is a chance of core melt down which can cause accident and radiation release. Modern plants are designed to remove decay heat through passive cooling if all the power supplies to the plant is lost which safeguard the reactor core It requires large water mass for cooling purpose. Therefore the plant should be near to sea or

river Nuclear power plants always operate as base load plants and cannot support grid during

transient conditions. In nuclear plant Turbine follows Reactor. Whatever may be the demand for electricity nuclear plant does not worry. It produces the power proportional to the reactor power. Therefore it does not support electrical grid during transients. Because varying reactor power with respect to load will affect the safety and life of the plant. It requires large area around the plant to be isolated from living (almost 5 km radius) State of art technology is required thereby increasing the cost and operators and other personnel

should be highly skilled to tackle any situations. Atomic power generation

Atomic power is a source of energy that has had, currently has, and will continue to have a powerful impact on the United States and it's people. Energy in the united states is primarily produced by fossil fuels In fact in 2008 our country's energy came from 85% fossil fuels. However, the economics of nuclear power is not a bad alternative. The primary costs are in the construction of power plants but once the plant is created the running costs are very low. The biggest running cost isn't even the fuel source or labor, it is the insurance on the risky facility. High insurance is a reminder that a human safety factor needs to be considered.

And it is true that there have been many deaths from nuclear power plant malfunctions. Approximately a hundred to a hundred and twenty deaths have occurred in nuclear power plants world wide since it's inception. Half the power plant deaths took place in one occurrence the Chernobyl accident 1986. It is believed that the eventual total death toll for people around nuclear plants will be between 5,000 to 30,000 people. These are tragic deaths but in terms of deaths per unit of power gained nuclear generation is responsible for fewer deaths then all the major fossil flues According to Benjamin

K. Sovacool, 279 major energy accidents occurred from 1907 to 2007 and they caused 182,156 deaths. Taking out the out the maximum possible deaths 30,120 from the total 182,156 you still have 152,036 from other major energy providers (fossil fuels).

If you compare the environmental impact of nuclear generation to that of fossil fuels it is practically nothing. The only thing that a nuclear power plant releases into the environment is clean water vapor from the condenser in the power plant (will be discussed later). This water never comes in contact with the radioactive material in the plant it is just pumped near hot areas in order to cool down components of the plant. This water just comes out as clean stem. Fossil fuels however, are notorious for letting off pollution. Not only do fossil fuels let of 90% of the green house gasses in the United States they releases other air pollution such as sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and heavy metals.

Now that we have introduced some of what the social and political aspects of atomic power we can look at what atomic power actually is. In order to do so we will have to look at the very small atomic level. If we zoom in really close we can see that there are three different kinds of nuclear reactions happening There is nuclear fission, nuclear fusion and nuclear decay.

Nuclear Fission

The process of nuclear fission starts by firing a neutron near a isotope ( a molecule that wants one more neutron to become stable) like uranium. The isotope absorbents the extra neutron but as a result the molecule starts to split. Two sometimes three smaller molecules are created from the one. The two new daughter molecules now have extra electrons and neutrons that they let go into the environment. The electrons are the source of power and heat the reaction. The neutrons can then go out to other nearby isotopes and start a chain reaction. Theses chain reactions then start new chain reactions as the come in contact with yet more isotopes. Within a few seconds there is or could be a tremendous amount of energy and heat that can destroy hole cities. In the diagram blow the red expositions

represents the release

Nuclear fusion

Nu clear fusion is the opposite reaction from fission. Fusion combines molecules instead of pulling them apart. If two molecules are projected towards each other with more force then they are repelling each other they can collide and combined. As a result the new molecule will shed the atomic matter it does not need for its new state such as electrons again generating heat.

Humans have not yet found a method of sustainable energy through the process of fusion. Normally, fusion is not possible because the positively charged nuclei repel each other and prevent them from getting close enough together for fusion to occur. We can, however see fusion every day by simply looking up at the sun. The gravity inside stars pulls molecules towards each other with a force that is strong enough to overcome the repulsion cased by the protons. When the atoms are closes enough together the nuchuler force (there desire to join together) overcomes there repulsive force and they combined. It is this process that supplies light to our entire galaxy and universe.

Nuclear decay

The last process of nuclear reaction is nuclear decay. Nuclear decay is a random process that occurs in unstable atoms. Each unstable atom has the potential to let off Ionizing radiation which takes electrons from atoms it comes in contact with. When the atom let go of this energy, its nucleus changes shape to become a new atom. Nuclear decay creates geothermal energy in the center of the earth. It is this process that keeps our inner earth hot. This heat moves to the outer crust and can be measured in certain areas on the planet. Nuclear decay is also a means to power.

How are the reactions used by humans

Humans have not been able to find ways to use all three atomic reactions to there benefit. At this point there is no way for us to make fusion a viable source of energy. Atoms like hydrogen must be heated to extreme temperatures over 100 million degrees Celsius, they must be kept dense enough, and confined for long enough, to allow the atoms to fuses. We have yet to keep all theses conditions perfectly aliened with one another to create sustainable fusion. If we where to get the process going long enough that it could perpetuate its own temperature the only thing it would need is more atoms to keep it going.

We are able to use some forms of nuclear decay, geothermal energy the earth produces and some RTGs. Radioisotope geothermoelectric generators capture the random busts of elections that

nuclear decay gives off. They are used in satellites and space probes because they can keep running on the energy from nuclear decay for a seemingly endless time. But by far the process that is most commonly used by humans is the processes of fission.

Fission power plants

So how exactly dues fission creates energy that we can use? The fission chain reaction takes place in what we call a nuclear reactor. In order to prevent the chain reaction from getting out of control an operator in the station places a rod in the reactor that absorbs the neutrons that are let off by the reaction.

If you place the rod all the way into the reactor you stop the reaction completely. This rod changes the reaction of fission from creating numberless dangerous chain reactions to one single controlled chain. As a result of our now controlled fission there is an excess electron that creates heat. Wile electrons heat the reactor water is pumped in to absorb that heat. The water is heated to extreme temperatures but dose not boil because the reactor is kept pressurized. The hot water is then piped out of the reactor and into a non-pressurized chamber where it can then tern to steam. From this chamber the steam is piped

past a turbine which generates the desired electricity. The steam is then cooled by a condenser and sent back to the steam chamber where it absorbs energy and becomes steam or is sent back to the reactor to be reheated.

The system is completely contained so that no toxic water/ material will escape. The main thing that enters and leaves the system is the uranium rods that power the fission process. And even these last a long time. Each uranium rod will last for about 6 years and at that point only 3% of it has been fissioned out.

Disposal of uranium rods

Taking care of uranium when it is spent is the major draw back to using nuclear power. The rods give off deadly radiation. They require great care so they will not come in contact with the environment of any biological material. Before we talk about it's disposal, it is important to understand where it comes from in the first place. The uranium is mined out of the earth and converted into a

stable form called yellowcake. In its yellowcake state it is transferred to a processing plant where it is converted to enriched uranium which is more unstable then the uranium naturally found in the earth. In this processing facility the uranium is shaped into the rods and ready for use in the reactors. In the reactors the foil rods will spend about 3 operational cycles (Each operational cycle lasts about 2 years ). After pulling the spent rods from the reactor the rods are placed in a spent full pool where it takes 5 years for the isotopes created by fission to decay away. Once they have lost some of there more potent radiation in this vat they are packed up and sent to a more permanent location. The rods are often sent deep into mountains where they are likely to spend the next ten thousand to a millions years. It may be possible to shorten this massive time period but as of yet it remains the biggest concern with nuclear power.

In order to understand the past, preset, and future of nuclear generation we need to remember of what it is. There are three different kinds of nuclear reactions fission, fusion and nuclear decay. The nuclear reaction the is most commonly used by humans is fission. We use fission in nuclear power plant to produce electricity. A byproduct of these nuclear power plants is radioactive material. The topic of atomic power is a global controversy, there isnt a first world country that hasnt dabbled in or began harnessing atomic power in hopes of utilizing such an incredibly efficient energy source. But like many of our advancements today, atomic power hasnt always had such a hopeful outlook. Beginning its mainstream roots as a weapon of total annihilation, atomic energy was once a force to be feared rather than revered. Before it was a bomb, atomic energy was a mysterious unknown. Dating as far back as the 18th century, atomic energy set a course to become history in the making. The use of uraniums natural oxide is believed to date back as far as around 80 C.E.. Yellow glass with trace amounts of uranium oxide have been found in Roman villas near the Bay of Naples, Italy; Pre-historically, uranium was once used as a coloring agent for glass and ceramics. At its very basic, the concept of atomic power would have never existed without the discovery

of one of its most important pieces, uranium. Uranium is credited as being discovered in 1789 by a German chemist by the name of Martin Heinrich Klaproth. Klaproth was able to precipitate a yellow compound, which is most likely believed to be sodium diuranate, by dissolving pitchblende in nitric acid and neutralizing the solution with sodium hydroxide. It was assumed that the yellow substance was an oxidized unknown metal, which went on to be named uranium, after the planet Uranus.

After its discovery, uranium wasnt viewed as being particularly dangerous, this lead to the development of numerous uses for the element. One of the main uses for uranium oxide was, once a secret, the yellow coloring in pottery and glass. In 1896, Henri Becquerel discovered what is now known to be radioactivity. Using the pitchblende compound, which contains both uranium and radium, Becquerel noted that a photographic plate became fogged when in contact with the substance. Becquerel later demonstrated that this was due to alpha particles and beta radiation being emitted. Eventually, a third type of radiation, gamma rays, was discovered to be associated with uranium as well. The term radioactivity was coined by Pierre and Marie Curie. In 1934, Enrico Fermi formulated the idea to use neutrons, which have no charge, as projectiles to shoot into an atoms nucleus. This lead to the creation of isotopes for every element, as the nuclei absorbed the extra neutron during this process. Fermi almost discovered that slowing down the neutron had a larger impact on the nucleus. Using said experiment, Fermi unknowingly split a nucleus; however credit would later be given to Hahn and Strassman for the discovery of the phenomenon in 1938. That being said, Fermi is credited with using atomic fission to cause a nuclear chain reaction. This release of energy would set the pace for atomic power. Experimentation and idealism using uranium continued on until the advancement of nuclear fission in the 1930s. In 1932, James Chadwick discovered the neutron; this lead to an exponential growth in the use of atomic power. In 1938, Fritz Strassman and Otto Hahn bombarded uranium with neutrons only to find that the uranium into two approximately equal parts. The process was called

fission. Atomic fission was discovered to have the ability to unleash copious amounts of energy. Further experimentation found that a specific uranium isotope could be transmuted into plutonium. These discoveries led dozens of countries to begin development on nuclear power and nuclear weaponry.

On December 2, 1942 the team for the Manhattan Project initiated the first artificial selfsustained nuclear chain reaction. This set the pace for the infamous atomic bomb to come to fruition. The bombs were two different major types, a uranium-based bomb and a plutonium-based device. On July 16th, 1945 in New Mexico, the results of the Manhattan Project were successfully tested. Three weeks after the test, the Enola Gay took off for Hiroshima. Known as one of the blackest days in human history, atomic power would go on to strike fear into humanity. The initial success of the atomic bomb led the Soviets to develop their own means of nuclear weaponry. As history now knows, this lead to an arms race and at one point, threatened to destroy the lives of millions. With such a heavy fear hanging over the heads of the worlds super powers, atomic energy was shunned and frowned upon. Many of todays fear stem from the misconceptions and dangers from the era of the Cold War. But the war brought humanity more than just turmoil and loss; new discoveries began to arise including the generation of electricity and steam using the heat generated by the reaction. Throughout the 1950s work on peaceful uses for atomic power proceeded. The United States funded large amounts of research in nuclear marine propulsion; the first nuclear powered submarine would launch in 1955 and eventually lead to where our Navy stands today. The 1954 Amendments to the Atomic Energy Acts declassified the involvement of government reactor technology and greatly encouraged development by the private sector. On June 27, 1954 the Soviets Obninsk Nuclear Power Plant became the worlds first source of atomic power to generate electricity for a power grid. This opened a plethora of hopes and advancements for the future use of atomic power.

The rapid production and release of atomically powered technological advancements from both the United States and the USSR led to the increase in commercial uses for atomic power. The first fully commercial reactor in the United States started up in 1960 and was operated until 1992. As this was happening, the boiling water reactor was developed by Argonne National Laboratory and the first boiling water reactor, Dresden-1 of 250 MWe, designed by the General Electric company, began operation in the early 1960s. By the end of the 60s, orders were being placed for PWR and BWR reactor units of more than 1000 MWe. The first 1000 MW- high-power channel reactor started up near Leningrad in 1973, this design was superseded by a 1000 MWe version which became the standard design for nuclear reactors. The use of atomic energy dropped drastically between the 1970s and 2002. This nuclear stagnation caused the retirement of many reactors and the cancellation of reactor orders. The price of uranium dropped dramatically after oil companies bailed out on the uranium field. Disasters, although none nearly as severe as the well-known catastrophic nuclear accident, such as the infamous Chernobyl disaster merely increased the decline in interest in atomic power. However, in the 1990s, Japan commissioned for the first of the third-generation reactors, Kashiwazaki-Kariwa 6 setting in motion the recovery of the use of atomic energy. As of today, we are currently in the era of a Nuclear Renaissance. What began as yellow coloring for pots has now turned into a source of energy that is being further developed and is hoped to replace much of the worlds fossil fuel use. As of today there are 434 operable reactors and 66 currently under construction in the world. Atomic power meets nearly 13-14% of the worlds electricity demand and if humanity does well to harness such an incredible source of energy, those numbers will simply become just another part of history in the grand scheme of atomic power. The world changed when the first atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima in 1945. Ever since, the nations of the world have fought to establish dominance and preeminence by building arsenals of nuclear weapons. The amount of nuclear weapons a country has plays a large role in where they are

ranked in the world compared to other countries. This was one of the greatest causes of the cold war between the United States and the Soviet Union along with its allies, which lasted from the end of WWII until very recent years. A countrys might is often measured by its firepower, and few things say fire power like an atomic bomb. Since its birth in 1776 the United States has made itself into a world super power and maintained that position by building its economy, and above all by maintaining a dominant military, largely due to developments in nuclear technology. Many nations in the world still hold to the ancient philosophy that might is right, meaning that if you are capable of conquering or bullying someone else, and you succeed at doing so, then its ok. Then there are those nations, like our own and many of the countries belonging to the UN who believe that those countries who are unable to defend themselves against larger or more powerful governments should be protected, and that, the simple ability to conquer or dominate does not make it morally right. The development of nuclear arms has much to do with differing opinions of government in regards to the way the world ought to be. As previously mentioned, the United States was the first country to successfully build a nuclear bomb by creating a chain reaction of split uranium atoms. Since that epochal day in 1942 our military and militaries across the globe have put nuclear power to a number of uses. The nuclear bomb is perhaps the most heavily researched and developed use of nuclear energy that the military employs. Since the first atomic bombs were dropped on Japan to end WWII the United States has continued to build and improve nuclear weapons. Today the United States is estimated to have over 7,000 nuclear warheads according to the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation. The US is one of only three countries to possess intercontinental ballistic missiles which are self-guided arms that travel through the air or even space to a specified target that can be hundreds or even thousands of miles away. These missiles are equipped with nuclear warheads that are capable of unspeakable destruction. A nuclear weapons initial blast alone is capable of leveling entire cities and ending the lives of hundreds of thousands. In addition to our intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM), we also possess a number of submarine launched ballistic missiles which are essentially the same thing except they are launched

from an underwater vessel. Russia also possesses a similar amount of the two types of weapons, both deployed and non-deployed. But the US and Russia are not the only ones who have built nuclear weapons. Of course each nation made every effort to guard their technological advances as closely as possible, but nonetheless information leaked and other nations got a hold of it and made their own discoveries which allowed them to develop their own nuclear arsenals. This has mostly taken place in relatively recent years. France, China, India, the United Kingdom, and Israel are some of the nations that are considered allies of the US that have nuclear weapons, while hostile or unfriendly nations that possess or are currently working to build nuclear weapons include North Korea, Iran, and Syria. It seems the whole world is in competition to see who is the toughest on the block, but the future is looking somewhat promising.

The gears have shifted somewhat in recent years. In particular after the end of the Cold War efforts have been made to reduce the number of nuclear war heads in the world. In April 2010 the New START treaty was signed by the two nations that have the greatest number of nuclear weapons, which are The United States of America and Russia. According to President Barak Obama the treaty reduces the number of nuclear weapons and launchers that the United States and Russia deploy, while fully maintaining Americas nuclear deterrent. The treaty puts regulation on the amount of intercontinental ballistic missiles, and submarine launched ballistic missiles that have to be met no later than February 2018. This is an effort to make the world a safer place by reducing the destructive power that these two great nations possess. At the moment it is thought that the greatest nuclear threat is coming from North Korea, and great efforts are being made to negotiate with their leader in order to curb their production of nuclear arms. North Korea successfully detonated test nuclear weapons in 2006, 2009, and early this year, which had prompted further negotiations and energies to curtail their nuclear programs. Although the current North Korean dictator has threatened to commence a nuclear war, and the possibility remains, the immediate threat seems to have abated for the time being.

The development of nuclear technology has been largely focused on weaponry, and when we think of nuclear power, the first thing that comes to mind is often images of the giant mushroom cloud of smoke rising above what was once Hiroshima or Nagasaki. However nuclear programs encompass far more than warheads alone. Work and research on nuclear powered ships and submarines began as early as the 1940s, and the first nuclear powered submarine called the USS Nautilis was launched in 1955, and in 1960 the first nuclear powered aircraft-carrier was launched. Ice breakers are also made with nuclear power for an energy source. Using this as a source of power as opposed to fossil fuel allows ships to stay at sea for longer periods of time, and generate exceedingly more power than conventionally powered ships. Despite the great success of these vessels in the United States Navy, and other navies such as Russia, France and China, and the extremely low number of accidents and radiation leaks, many people are skeptical and worry that nuclear reactors in ships and submarines are too volatile and prone to incidents. This fear has caused restrictions for these warships in many ports across the globe, but as fossil fuels become less readily available and harder to find, it is likely that this alternate power source will become more widely used and accepted. Military research and development departments will likely be some of the leading contributors to the furthering of nuclear technology. As with countless other inventions and innovations like the internet, and airplanes, the United States military will be responsible for introducing the nuclear chain reaction into the world, and the greater part of advances in the nuclear field. For good or ill the United States will always carry that mantle and share at least some if not all the charge of whatever consequences that may come from nuclear power.

The future of nuclear power looks less bright as more technological advances are introduced and the numbers of accidents increase. It also take a lot of time, money and it may affect the health of the employees and citizens of the country by the radiation that is dealt with in the nuclear power plants. There have been more than one hundred accidents since the 1950's, some resulting in explosions and death of many employees. Almost 20.5 billion dollars were put towards property damage and has caused evacuations of residents from local cities. An accident that happened at the Fukushima 1 Nuclear power plant in Fukushima in Japan was recorded as the second worst disaster to happen in history. This comes after the 4,200 million dollar damage steam explosion and meltdown in Ukraine (1986) that killed 50 directly and as many as 4,000 later on due to the radiation that was released into the country. The explosion in Japan was caused by an earthquake and tsunami. There were many reports later on that resulted in many of the residents that contracted cancer by the radiation. Nuclear power plants are going to be dangerous no matter what because the disasters of the earth that happen cannot be controlled (such as earthquakes, tsunamis, major storms, etc.) and cause a huge impact on the people of the country and the economy of the country as well. Analysts say, in order for it to stay profitable, a nuclear plant costs generally about 12 cents per kilowatt an hour where gas-fired plants only cost about 5-9 cents per kilowatt an hour. That is a big difference considering how long the plant is running a day as well as how long over time it is active for. Technological advances are leading towards more efficient, less expensive, environmentally friendly ways to provide a source of energy. Nuclear power plants may have a chance for the future if the process of how they make energy is improved and safer.

Nuclear power plants are powered by Uranium and use a generator that converts mechanical power into electrical power. The atoms of uranium are split that produce energy which is then converted into very high temperatures of heat. This is used to power the turbines that give energy to the

generator. The health risks of power plants are practically nothing, that is, if it does not explode or any problems occur with the radioactive material. This is because it just releases clean water vapor and does not come in contact with radiation whatsoever. But as it turns out, nuclear power plants are always going to be risky because of the environmental factors of the earth that cannot be changed and costly if something were to go wrong. It will affect the health of the citizens of the country and affect the economy. As fossil fuels get harder to find and the US uses almost 85% of it as the primary source of energy, an alternative is in high demand. If nuclear power plants were built in a region that does not experience those factors like earthquakes and other disasters that will be a step closer to more percautions that are needed to prevent horrible disasters. That is more important than saving time. Powering submarines and ships that are used in the armed forms have used nuclear power to run them. That allows them to be out for longer periods of time at sea and generate more power. But yet again, the concern of the radiation and the disasters that could happen always look down on the future of nuclear power. It will always be a debatable source of energy to use but it is being improved more and more over time. It has improved greatly in the last decades and will continue to improve.

References The Manhattan Project. Retrieved October 21, 2013, from the World Wide Web: http://www.ushistory.org/us/51f.asp Kimpball, D. (2013). Nuclear Weapons: Who Has What. Retrieved October 22, 2013, from the World Wide Web: http://www.armscontrol.org/factsheets/Nuclearweaponswhohaswhat Nuclear Proliferation Case Studies. Retrieved October 22, 2013, from the World Wide Web: http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/Safety-and-Security/Non-Proliferation/Appendices/Nuclear-