Reece

Essay :


 * Nuclear energy is an extremely power source of electricity. It is created through a process called nuclear fission and requires uranium. It has a lot of advantages as well as disadvantages to the it but is required because of over population and the lack of renewable energy.**


 * Nuclear energy can be made either naturally or man-made. The sun would be a natural source of nuclear energy because it produces heat and light through nuclear reactions. Man-made nuclear energy is created through a process known as nuclear fission. First of all, uranium is stored in nuclear fuel rods which are placed in water tanks. Nuclear fission is a process in which scientists shoot neutrons at uranium to split the protons and neutrons from its nuclei which in turn lets loose the energy stored inside the elements' nuclei. The reason scientists use uranium is because it is radioactive and produces heat in the process of nuclear fission. The heat that the uranium produces then causes the water around it to causing it to evaporate. The steam that is produced from there is then used to turn large turbines which generate electricity. Once the nucleus is split, the neutrons that were split from the previous uranium then shoot out into other uranium nuclei, splitting them. This process where neutrons endlessly keep splitting is called chain reaction.**




 * Whilst nuclear energy has disadvantages, it also has advantages. Nuclear energy can have an effect on a variety of things. For example, treatment. Radiation can be used to treat certain illnesses, such as cancer. It does this through a process called chemotherapy. Chemotherapy is a process in which a patient is injected with weakened radioactive materials which designed to kill as many cells in your body, whether it be normal cells or cancerous cells. Nuclear energy is also a extremely efficient energy source. For example, nuclear energy produces 1.5 times the electricity coal produces using the same quantity. Nuclear energy can also reduce the amount of carbon dioxide released into the air drastically if the world stopped using energy sources such as coal, natural gas and oil.**


 * Nuclear energy also has many disadvantages. For example, nuclear energy produces nuclear waste. Nuclear waste is the remains of uranium nuclei after they had split and been exhausted. Nuclear waste is extremely dangerous because it produces high amounts of radiation and can stay active for around 4.5 billion years until it decays. Nuclear energy is also dangerous because of it's potential to be an weapon. For example, each year a single nuclear reactor in the world is capable of producing enough plutonium for making over 30 nuclear bombs. Now imagine if a terrorist were to get their hands on this kind of weapon. Scientists usually hide nuclear waste in the ocean or inside a mountain with reinforced walls that don't allow radiation. However, nuclear waste has a chance to spontaneously combust and release radiation into the atmosphere which may cause chaos to people that live in the vicinity. Also, careless disposal of nuclear waste into the ocean and land will kill ocean life and nature.**


 * Here are some limitations to nuclear energy :**
 * **Limitations** ||
 * **Nuclear reactors have a limited uptime until they break down and can be extremely expensive to replace.** ||
 * * Mined uranium costs $113 per pound.
 * Refined uranium doesn't exactly sell because most people buy the mined uranium and refine it themselves.
 * The price of uranium has changed drastically over the past few years. For example, in the year 2000 a pound of uranium only cost around $7.10.
 * The reason why the price is going up is because of how scarce the element is becoming.
 * The cost of the actual construction for one nuclear power plant is 2 billion. There is also the cost of the maintenance of to take into consideration. ||
 * **Nuclear energy renewability.** ||
 * * Estimated to only last for the next 30 to 60 years.
 * Nuclear energy produces much more energy than coal for the same amount of fuel provided. ||


 * Nuclear energy also affects the environment through carbon dioxide. Now, nuclear energy plants are said to be made to produce close to no carbon dioxide. While this is true there are some faults. For example, scientists using uranium as a source of fuel. The process of mining uranium produces high amounts of carbon dioxide into the air. Also, the transport of radioactive waste causes carbon dioxide emissions. Also, if a nuclear meltdown were to occur, it would cause a lot of radioactive isotopes to be released into the air or water. The released radioactive materials would land on the grass, leaves and dirt which would then be eaten by animals such as cows. Cows that ate the infected grass and leaves were found with their meat tainted with radioactive isotopes. If we keep following the food chain like this it will eventually lead back to us and cause serious problems for us.**


 * Nuclear energy can also affect health. For example, the radioactive isotopes that release radioactive rays, alpha, beta, and gamma, gives enough energy to the electrons in our DNA atoms to overcome the attractions of protons and escape. When this happens it makes the nuclei in our DNA very unstable. This is dangerous because when DNA becomes unstable it can cause two situations. One where the cells die and the other where the cells mutates. In the case of the cells mutating, the cells replicates uncontrollable and continues to reproduce cells that are damaged. This is known as the primarily cause of cancer. Also there is an element in nuclear energy called cesium. Cesium is similar to calcium and if your body consumes it, it may confuse the substance with calcium and apply it to your bones which in turn weakens them.**


 * Biblography :**

Web link ||< ILoveIndia. "iloveindia.com." //Advantages And Disadvantages Of Nuclear Energy//. iloveindia.com, n.d. Web. 30 May 2012. . ||
 * < Web Site

Questions:

=== **1. How nuclear energy is used to solve energy scarcity? ** **Since our population is growing rapidly we demand more and more energy everyday. This means that eventually, fossil fuel will run out and we will have no other choice but to rely on other energy sources such as hydroelectricity, wind energy and solar energy. The problem with these sources of energy is that they don't nearly produce as much energy as fossil fuel and it won't match our demands for energy. This is where nuclear energy comes in. Nuclear energy is a source of energy that produces electricity. The output of nuclear energy is around 1.5 million times more electricity than coal for the same amount of fuel.** ===

=== **2. How is nuclear energy produced? ** **Nuclear energy can either be produced naturally or man-made. The sun could be a natural source because it makes heat and light through nuclear reactions. Man-made nuclear energy is usually from nuclear reactors. ** **The process in which nuclear energy is produced is nuclear fission. This is where scientists shoot neutrons at nuclei to split the protons and neutrons which in turn makes energy. The energy comes from the energy already stored in the nuclei. The element scientists use for nuclear fission is usually uranium. This is because the uranium nuclei splits easily. Also once the nucleus is split, different neutrons shoot out and then split other uranium nuclei. This process is called chain reaction. ** ===

=== **3. What are the advantages, negatives, and limitations of nuclear energy ** === http://www.energyandcapital.com/articles/nuclear+energy-investing-uranium/402 **4. How does nuclear radiation affect the environment? ** **5. How does nuclear radiation affect health? ** **Radioactive isotopes that release radioactive rays gives enough energy to electrons to escape the attraction of protons and escape. When this happens it can make the nuclei in our DNA unstable. This is dangerous because when DNA becomes unstable it can cause two situations. One where it just dies and the other where it mutates. When it mutates it replicates uncontrollable and continues to reproduce your cells that are damaged. This is the main cause of cancer. **
 * **Advantages** || **Disadvantages** || **Limitations** ||
 * **Can be used in replacement to coal and oil to produce electricity.** || **Nuclear plants produce nuclear waste.** || **Nuclear reactors have a limited uptime until they break down and can be extremely expensive to replace.** ||
 * * The power output of nuclear energy is 1.5 million times more electricity than coal for the same amount of fuel.
 * Nuclear energy is also renewable up to a certain extent. || * Nuclear waste usually takes 4.5 billions years to decay.
 * Weapons: nuclear waste has potential to become a weapon. For example, each year every single nuclear reactor in the world is capable of producing enough plutonium for making over 30 nuclear bombs.
 * Carbon dioxide will be produced from the nuclear waste. || * Mined uranium costs $113 per pound.
 * Refined uranium doesn't exactly sell because most people buy the mined uranium and refine it themselves.
 * The price of uranium has changed drastically over the past few years. For example, in the year 2000 a pound of uranium only cost around $7.10.
 * The reason why the price is going up is because of how scarce the element is becoming.
 * The cost of the actual construction for one nuclear power plant is 2 billion. There is also the cost of the maintenance of to take into consideration. ||
 * **Nuclear plants are designed to prevent the release of harmful pollutants into the air.** || **Nuclear energy has a chance of spontaneously combusting and releasing radiation into the air.** || **Nuclear energy renewability.** ||
 * * Can reduce the amount of carbon dioxide being released into the air drastically.
 * Is carbon neutral so it won't contribute to global warming. || * There have been cases where nuclear waste stored in mountains combust.
 * The radiation released into the air will cause chaos and affect a large amount of area where people will die. || * Estimated to only last for the next 30 to 60 years.
 * Nuclear energy produces much more energy than coal for the same amount of fuel provided. ||
 * || **Pollution** ||  ||
 * || * Careless disposal of nuclear waste leads to the pollution of land, rivers and oceans.
 * Kills ocean and nature life. ||  ||
 * 14Nuclear Energy as Medicine ||
 * **`Advantages** || **Disadvantages** || **Limitations** ||
 * Nuclear energy is useful in treatment. || The different harmful rays produced from nuclear energy can be extremely harmful to the body and possibly damage your cells inside. || The procedures of nuclear medicine can be time consuming and may take up to several hours to perform. ||
 * Radiation can be used to treat a certain illnesses, particularly cancer. ||  ||   ||
 * It affects it through carbon dioxide. Now, nuclear plants are said to be made to produce close to no carbon dioxide. While this is true there are some faults. For example, scientists use uranium as a source of fuel. The process of mining uranium produces high amounts of carbon dioxide into the air. Also, the transport of radioactive waste causes carbon dioxide emissions. Nuclear meltdown cause a lot of radioactive isotopes to be released into the air or water. By air I ****mean ****by grass, leaves, dirt. Cows that ate the infected grass and leaves were found with their meat tainted with radioactive isotopes. Also, if we follow the food chain it eventually comes back to us humans meaning that in the end we might be eating radioactive meat. Bio-magnification describes how chemicals consumed by organisms increases from lower levels of food-chain to the top of the food-chain. **


 * You can get rid of cancer using one of these two methods. One where you surgically remove and the other being chemotherapy. Chemotherapy is the process in which you inject radioactive materials into your body in hopes of killing all the mutated cells that contain cancer. Of course this method isn’t safe and it destroys your normal cells as well. **
 * One of the elements of nuclear energy is cesium. Cesium is extremely similar to calcium and if you body consumes it, it confuses it with calcium and applies it to your bones which in turn weakens your bones. **


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