Living in the 21st century definitely has its advantages. Definitely life is easier as we can live in a more controlled environment since everything from air conditioning to freeze dried food is the result of modern life. We can also communicate instantly and live in luxury due to modern technology. However, many people don't realize the importance of electricity in our world. Almost everything that we do in our daily activities depends on electricity. Thus, without electricity, none of the modern luxuries such as air conditioning, internet, TV, modern banking as well all other necessities that we enjoy today would be possible. In fact, without electricity, world economy would undergo catastrophic break down, as production of goods will stop completely. Moreover, even basic necessities like internet would become impossible to utilize without sufficient amounts of electricity. However, the problem is the fact that electricity production depends on burning of fossil fuels. Almost 74 percent of the electricity production in the world is created through the burning of coal, oil or natural gas.
In order to produce electricity, fossil fuels such as coal, oil and natural gas are first burned in a combustion chamber in a thermal power plant. The burning process of the fossil fuels releases a lot of heat, which is then transferred to the primary coolant. Thus, the coolant takes the heat away from the combustion chamber and then the coolant is passed through a heat exchanger in order to create steam. Usually, water is utilized as a coolant in order to make the power plant system work easily and efficiently. Once steam is created from the heat, it is passed through a turbine. As the steam creates momentum on the blades of the turbine, electricity is created and this electricity is passed on to the general electrical distribution grid. The leftover steam is then cycled through a secondary cooling cycle and a condenser, which cools down the steam to turn it back into cold water again. Cooling tower is also used to release heat as well as combustion byproducts.
The main problem with this process is that great amounts of carbon dioxide from the burning process is released into the atmosphere. This is a major problem, since large amounts of carbon dioxide increase the carbon footprint and more importantly, it is one of the main causes of global warming. This has become a very important issue, as global warming is not only endangering us today, but it is also endangering our future generations as well. Moreover, there are several studies to suggest that thermal power plants which burn oil and coal are one of the major causes of carbon dioxide emission in our world. Moreover, large amounts of sulfur as well as other harmful pollution chemicals are also emitted into the environment. Of course, another major issue is the fact that fossil fuels are destined to run out in the next 40 to 60 years. Thus, for the reasons of preventing global warming, as well as for allowing the production of electricity to continue even when fossil fuels run out; nuclear energy production seems to be the only viable answer. Otherwise, either we will have a world overrun by global warming or we will have a world without electricity when we run out of usable fossil fuels.
Even though renewable energy options such as solar power and wind energy exist, they account for only a small fraction for the world's energy needs. As stated above, electricity is something that is vital to the survival of our civilization. With nuclear energy, it is possible to create enough electricity to meet the world's energy demands.
In essence, a nuclear power plant uses the same principle of electric production as thermal power plants; but instead of burning fossil fuel, heat is generated from the fission reaction itself. Due to this, there is no burning process involved and due to this, no carbon dioxide or sulfur products are vented into the atmosphere. Instead the only venting that takes place is water vapor. Thus, from an environmental protection point of view, using nuclear power plants will actually lowers our carbon footprint in the atmosphere. Moreover, the dependency on fossil fuels will decrease and electricity can be created cheaply and efficiently.
Of course, nuclear energy also comes with several problems, as it is a special process that needs to be monitored and also controlled very carefully. If monitoring is not done, it can lead to several incidents such as the Chernobyl incident. However, it has been a proven fact that it has been almost always human error which have lead to nuclear incidents. In fact it was a gross human error and management negligence that lead to the Chernobyl incident. Thus, it needs to be understood that if it is used properly, nuclear energy can be harnessed to create almost limitless amounts of electricity to meet the global demand. Another important point that needs to be remembered is the fact that there is no possibility of a nuclear explosion ever occurring in a nuclear power plant due to its nuclear dynamics. Up to now, none of the nuclear incidents that took place had any nuclear explosion occurring. Usually, most of the nuclear incidents that took place was a steam explosion or some other similar calamity.
However, proper precautions will need to be taken and newer technologies will need to be implemented, so that public safety can be maintained. Unlike the technology of the 1960's, the newer technology involving nuclear power plants involve better safety measures such as passive, inherent safety measures. Hence, even with a natural disaster like Fukuskima incident, the nuclear power plant will safely shut itself off and cool off without any external help. Especially, gas cooled nuclear reactors are very promising in this regard. Thus, keeping these in mind, a new public perspective needs to be brought forward that nuclear energy can meet our electricity demands in safe and reliable manner, especially if it is implemented properly. Of course, various school programs need to be implemented so that proper understanding of nuclear energy can be gained at a relatively young age. If used properly, nuclear energy can be a solution to our modern needs, but this level of understanding must be present.
In order to produce electricity, fossil fuels such as coal, oil and natural gas are first burned in a combustion chamber in a thermal power plant. The burning process of the fossil fuels releases a lot of heat, which is then transferred to the primary coolant. Thus, the coolant takes the heat away from the combustion chamber and then the coolant is passed through a heat exchanger in order to create steam. Usually, water is utilized as a coolant in order to make the power plant system work easily and efficiently. Once steam is created from the heat, it is passed through a turbine. As the steam creates momentum on the blades of the turbine, electricity is created and this electricity is passed on to the general electrical distribution grid. The leftover steam is then cycled through a secondary cooling cycle and a condenser, which cools down the steam to turn it back into cold water again. Cooling tower is also used to release heat as well as combustion byproducts.
The main problem with this process is that great amounts of carbon dioxide from the burning process is released into the atmosphere. This is a major problem, since large amounts of carbon dioxide increase the carbon footprint and more importantly, it is one of the main causes of global warming. This has become a very important issue, as global warming is not only endangering us today, but it is also endangering our future generations as well. Moreover, there are several studies to suggest that thermal power plants which burn oil and coal are one of the major causes of carbon dioxide emission in our world. Moreover, large amounts of sulfur as well as other harmful pollution chemicals are also emitted into the environment. Of course, another major issue is the fact that fossil fuels are destined to run out in the next 40 to 60 years. Thus, for the reasons of preventing global warming, as well as for allowing the production of electricity to continue even when fossil fuels run out; nuclear energy production seems to be the only viable answer. Otherwise, either we will have a world overrun by global warming or we will have a world without electricity when we run out of usable fossil fuels.
Even though renewable energy options such as solar power and wind energy exist, they account for only a small fraction for the world's energy needs. As stated above, electricity is something that is vital to the survival of our civilization. With nuclear energy, it is possible to create enough electricity to meet the world's energy demands.
In essence, a nuclear power plant uses the same principle of electric production as thermal power plants; but instead of burning fossil fuel, heat is generated from the fission reaction itself. Due to this, there is no burning process involved and due to this, no carbon dioxide or sulfur products are vented into the atmosphere. Instead the only venting that takes place is water vapor. Thus, from an environmental protection point of view, using nuclear power plants will actually lowers our carbon footprint in the atmosphere. Moreover, the dependency on fossil fuels will decrease and electricity can be created cheaply and efficiently.
Of course, nuclear energy also comes with several problems, as it is a special process that needs to be monitored and also controlled very carefully. If monitoring is not done, it can lead to several incidents such as the Chernobyl incident. However, it has been a proven fact that it has been almost always human error which have lead to nuclear incidents. In fact it was a gross human error and management negligence that lead to the Chernobyl incident. Thus, it needs to be understood that if it is used properly, nuclear energy can be harnessed to create almost limitless amounts of electricity to meet the global demand. Another important point that needs to be remembered is the fact that there is no possibility of a nuclear explosion ever occurring in a nuclear power plant due to its nuclear dynamics. Up to now, none of the nuclear incidents that took place had any nuclear explosion occurring. Usually, most of the nuclear incidents that took place was a steam explosion or some other similar calamity.
However, proper precautions will need to be taken and newer technologies will need to be implemented, so that public safety can be maintained. Unlike the technology of the 1960's, the newer technology involving nuclear power plants involve better safety measures such as passive, inherent safety measures. Hence, even with a natural disaster like Fukuskima incident, the nuclear power plant will safely shut itself off and cool off without any external help. Especially, gas cooled nuclear reactors are very promising in this regard. Thus, keeping these in mind, a new public perspective needs to be brought forward that nuclear energy can meet our electricity demands in safe and reliable manner, especially if it is implemented properly. Of course, various school programs need to be implemented so that proper understanding of nuclear energy can be gained at a relatively young age. If used properly, nuclear energy can be a solution to our modern needs, but this level of understanding must be present.
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