nuclear+energy+(Matt+McLaughlin)

What is Nuclear Energy? __**
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Nuclear Energy, usually in the form of heat or electricity, is produced by the process of nuclear fission within a nuclear reactor. The coolant that removes the heat from the nuclear reactor is normally used to boil water, and the resultant steam drives steam turbines that rotate electrical generators.

The main use of nuclear energy is to generate electricity. This is simply a clean and efficient way of boiling water to make steam which drives turbine generators. Except for the reactor itself, a nuclear power station works like most coal or gas-fired power stations. Nuclear energy is best applied to medium and large-scale electricity generation on a continuous basis (ie meeting "base-load" demand). The fuel for it is basically uranium.

Like coal, oil and natural gas, uranium is an energy resource which must be processed through a series of steps to produce an efficient fuel for generating electricity. Each fuel has its own distinctive fuel cycle: however the uranium or 'nuclear fuel cycle' is more complex than the others.

To prepare uranium for use in a nuclear reactor, it undergoes the steps of mining and milling, conversion, enrichment and fuel fabrication. These steps make up the 'front end' of the nuclear fuel cycle. After uranium has been used in a reactor to produce electricity it is known as 'spent fuel' and may undergo a further series of steps including temporary storage, reprocessing, and recycling before eventual disposal as waste. Collectively these steps are known as the 'back end' of the fuel cycle. These are the various steps that together make up the entire Nuclear Fuel Cycle:

media type="youtube" key="fjgdgAhOzXQ" height="344" width="425"This video demonstrates how nuclear energy creates electricity

**__What Problem is Nuclear Energy trying to address?__** Nuclear Energy not only supplies energy, but is benefiting our air quality. Nuclear power plants aid compliance with the Clean Air Act of 1970, which set standards to improve the nation's air quality. Because they generate heat from fission rather than burning fuel, they produce no greenhouse gases or emissions associated with acid rain or urban smog. Using more nuclear energy gives states additional flexibility in complying with clean-air requirements. In America the problems that are addressed by the nuclear energy plants is this:

America's nuclear energy plants deliver many benefits:
 * [[image:http://www.posse.net/_themes/neon/neoabul1.gif width="15" height="15"]] || They cut America's demand for foreign oil by nearly 300 million barrels a year reducing our dependence on foreign oil suppliers and cutting our trade deficit. ||
 * [[image:http://www.posse.net/_themes/neon/neoabul1.gif width="15" height="15"]] || They produce much of the electricity that fuels our economic growth. They power new industrial technologies that boost our Gross National Product and improve our global competitiveness. ||
 * [[image:http://www.posse.net/_themes/neon/neoabul1.gif width="15" height="15"]] || They replace the burning of vast amounts of fossil fuels - reducing the environmental impact of producing electric power. ||

Nuclear energy supplies 15% of the world's electricity, more than the world used from all sources in 1960. Today 31 countries use nuclear energy to generate up to three quarters of their electricity, and a substantial number of these depend on it for one quarter to one half of their supply. Some 13,500 reactor years of operational experience have been accumulated since the 1950s by more than 400 nuclear power reactors world-wide (and nuclear reactors powering naval vessels have clocked up a similar amount).
 * __ When is Nuclear Energy useful? __**

It is important to note that nuclear energy is also used to produce the radioisotopes used in many parts of our modern world, with health services, industry and even domestic safety very dependent on them. Many homes have smoke detectors which depend on a tiny amount of americium, derived from plutonium made in a nuclear reactor. In the developed countries, about one half of all people will depend on nuclear medicine at some stage of their lives.

While CO2 is only a very small part of the atmosphere (0.04%), it plays an important role in the energy balance of our planet: CO2 in the atmosphere acts like a blanket over the planet by trapping long-wave radiation, which would otherwise radiate heat away from the planet ([|greenhouse effect]). As the amount of CO2 increases, so will its warming effect. CO2 is the largest contributor (currently 63%) to this effect by long-lived gases and its role increases each year. The additional burden of CO2 in the atmosphere will remain for a very long time, of the order of thousands of years, if we have to rely on the natural mechanisms of erosion and sedimentation to process the added CO2. Carbon dioxide—the principal greenhouse gas—is a major focus of policy discussions to reduce emissions. Nuclear power plants, which do not emit carbon dioxide, account for the majority of voluntary reductions in greenhouse gas emissions in the electric power sector, according to a 2007 report from Power Partners, a partnership between the electric power industry and the U.S. Department of Energy.
 * __ How does Nuclear Energy relate to the carbon cycle? __**

In the Earth's atmosphere, the warming effect of "greenhouse gases" is an undisputed phenomenon. Without it, the globe would be covered in ice. For thousands of years, a fairly constant level of greenhouse gases created the moderate environment in which civilisation evolved. . **__What are the possible consequences to the environment?__**  National and international anxiety about nuclear power stems directly from a fear of release of radioactive material and its consequences on people and the environment. The problem, however, is that there is a huge information gap between specialists on the exposures from nuclear power and the public. When one looks at the 1991 report by the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation, (UNSCEAR) one would see that the routine generation of nuclear electricity releases only negligible amounts of radioactive materials to the environment.
 * __ Is Nuclear Energy a viable solution to protect the biosphere? __**

Nuclear power technology produces materials that are active in emitting radiation and are therefore called "radioactive". These materials can come into contact with people principally through small releases during routine plant operation, accidents in nuclear power plants, accidents in transporting radioactive materials, and escape of radioactive wastes from confinement systems. but all of them taken together, with accidents treated probabilistically, will eventually expose the average American to about 0.2% of his exposure from natural radiation. Since natural radiation is estimated to cause about 1% of all cancers, radiation due to nuclear technology should eventually increase our cancer risk by 0.002% (one part in 50,000), reducing our life expectancy by less than one hour. By comparison, our loss of life expectancy from competitive electricity generation technologies, burning coal, oil, or gas, is estimated to range from 3 to 40 days.


 * __ Link to Matthew Steven Pestotnik's wiki page: __**
 * __ http://gilmourbiology.wikispaces.com/electric+cars+%28Matthew+Steven+Pestotnik%29

Citations __** //Glossary of Nuclear Terms//. (n.d.). Retrieved October 18, 2009, from http://www.gdrc.org/uem/nuclear-glossary.html //Nuclear Energy Institute - Key Issues//. (n.d.). Retrieved October 18, 2009, from http://www.nei.org/keyissues/ &, I. L. (n.d.). //Nuclear Energy//. Retrieved October 18, 2009, from http://www.umich.edu/~gs265/society/nuclear.htm //Nuclear Benefits//. (n.d.). Retrieved October 18, 2009, from http://www.posse.net/ne_benef //Nuclear Power Risk//. (n.d.). Retrieved October 18, 2009, from http://www.physics.isu.edu/radinf/np-risk.htm //The Nuclear Fuel Cycle: Education: World Nuclear Association//. (n.d.). Retrieved October 18, 2009, from http://www.world-nuclear.org/education/nfc.htm