The world is rapidly changing and so is the energy transformation. The energy deficient nations look up to the developed countries for their solutions but the question is; are the resources enough to overcome the energy crisis or the world would have to shift towards nuclear power as its last resort?
What is nuclear power and how does it work?
A nuclear power plant is made up of small particles and pieces of uranium known as atoms. They are kept under careful control as the technicians are profusely breaking these atoms apart to create nuclear fission reactions. These nuclear fission reactions create tons and tons of energy in the form of heat that further creates steam when reacted with water.
The steam makes the turbine spin with utmost speed and a reaction is created which embarks the creation of energy known as a nuclear power.
“The turbine is coupled to an electric generator, causing it to also spin,” said William C. Evans, a nuclear scientist. “When the generator spins, electrical energy is produced, and is then sent to us to use, through long wires.”
There are 55 nuclear plants across America. According to the United States government’s office of nuclear energy, nuclear plants are located in 28 different states and together they provide and fulfill the energy needs of the United States of America.
Without a doubt, there are serious risks involved in nuclear energy. No one has forgotten the Chernobyl nuclear power plant accident in 1986. The powerful accident’s harrowing shadows are still looming in Ukraine in the form of illness and deaths of thousands of people in the close vicinity of the power plant.
Another deadly accident in recent times took place in Japan in 2011, when an earthquake resulting in a tsunami triggered another deadly accident in the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.
These incidents are rare but not non-existent.
One of the reasons why nuclear power is considered to be the last resort is radioactive waste – which is harmful to humans, animals, and plantations of the planet – everyone on the planet.
Nuclear power plants create gigantic amounts of electricity but the sidekicks cannot be ignored. The greenhouse gasses stay in the air worsening the climatic change in the world.
According to scientists, it is impossible for nuclear power to eradicate global warming and other serious issues faced by earth at the moment on its own. If other alternative energies such as solar and wind are also associated with nuclear power, then it might become a win-win situation but the chances are still very bleak because of the side effects associated with nuclear power.
Nuclear power might be the last resort for clean earth but it comes with hefty charges which might not make it a feasible option even in the future.
