Nuclear Fission

Here is the FIRST article on Nuclear Fission

Should we use nuclear power? 

 

This article will be about using nuclear fuels, and whether it is a good or bad idea. I personally believe that we should, and I hope this should convince you. 

Nuclear fission is the splitting of a large atomic nucleus into smaller nuclei. The entire nucleus splits into two large fragments. In addition to these, two or three neutrons also explode out of the fission reaction, and these can collide with other uranium nuclei to cause further fission reactions. This is known as a chain reaction. The fast moving neutrons carry most of the energy from the reaction with them, 99% of it, but before the neutrons can collide with fresh uranium nuclei, they need to be slowed down. This is so that they can collide with other nuclei in a controlled way, without exploding. The energy is used to heat water to drive the turbines that turn the generators.  

A reason that we shouldn’t use nuclear fuels is because they are nuclear, and they are just like the world-destroying bombs used in World War 2. If something bad happens to the reactors, if they malfunction or if they are sabotaged then they could explode and kill many people, whilst also leaking radiation that could poison an area for years. An example was the Fukushima disaster, where a tsunami was big enough to go past the seawall and into a nuclear reactor. The explosion seriously injured sixteen workers and spread radiation around. Another example is the Chernobyl disaster. When the explosion happened, 30,000 people had to evacuate and 50 people were immediately killed. To make it even worse, several times more radiation particles than the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombs were released into the air. These are such disastrous accidents that it should be obvious to not use nuclear fuels. 

 

Another reason that we shouldn’t use nuclear fuels is because of the nuclear waste that they produce. This nuclear waste is still highly radioactive and is very hard, if not impossible, to get rid of. Nuclear waste is a solid by-product of the reaction that takes place in the nuclear reactor. It can be used to make a bit of power, but not that much. The storage for the waste is normally underground in a chamber. However, the big issue with this is that it will just pile up and take up room. Also, uranium is non-renewable which makes the reactors even worse. 

 

A reason that we should use nuclear fuels is because while it may be bad, the alternatives are even worse. The most widely used energy source is fossil fuels, and the pollution that they produce is very harmful. While nuclear reactor failures have killed a few hundred people, which is already bad, fossil fuels’ pollution cause around 7 million premature deaths per year. When the energy industry replaced fossil fuels with nuclear power, it prevented more than 1.8 million deaths between 1971 and 2009. This just shows you how nuclear fuel could save many lives. 

 

A second reason that we should use nuclear fuels is that they are relatively low cost. This is brilliant as it means that nuclear power can be used as a short-term power option while more money is spent on researching better and producing more renewable energy sources. The low price of nuclear power will also be attractive to rich, greedy governments to use, however nuclear power is still slightly more expensive than fossil fuels.  

 

As a short-term power source, nuclear power is an incredible option. It will save millions of lives and make way cleaner air for people all over the world, giving everyone better quality of life and health. While it is being used, renewable energy can be researched and mass produced as the next alternative to nuclear power. That is how nuclear power can save the world.