Nuclear Energy

• Nuclear energy exists within the smallest particles of matter called atoms.
• Very large atoms are unstable and shoot particles and heat energy out of the nucleus in their centers.
  • While these particles and energy can be dangerous to living cells, they can also be harnessed to generate electricity!

• Reactors contain uranium atoms that are packed into nuclear fuel rods and submerged in water.
• The radiant energy heats the water into steam which spins magnets around copper coils to generate electricity.
  • The released particles slam into other atoms forcing them to release more energy.
  • The water helps to slow this process down so there isn’t a meltdown or explosion.

• Pound for pound, uranium provides the most electricity of any source we have figured out how to harness on Earth.
  • As you can see from the diagram, one tiny pellet is equivalent to huge amounts of fossil fuels.

• While the cooling towers at a nuclear power plant may look scary, they are just allowing steam to rise from the reactors.
  • There is no CO₂ produced since nothing is being burned and the radioactive atoms are too big to evaporate.

• Not every country has a bunch of Uranium atoms in their rocks.
  • Countries that do find themselves embroiled in political power struggles with countries who want the nuclear material.
  • If you haven’t heard of the countries on the chart, get familiar, because nuclear material is one of the hottest items in geology!

• Once the uranium is located, fossil fuel powered equipment removes it from the ground causing land damage and air pollution.
• And while uranium trapped underground isn’t problematic for ecosystems, exposed uranium from mining gets carried away by rainwater resulting in contaminated water sources.

• We can’t just throw uranium rocks into water and heat it up, the uranium has to be refined into nuclear fuel pellets.
• Due to the delicate nature of this process, there are only a few facilities in the world that enrich uranium.
  • And and you can imagine, countries with that capability engage in politics.

• The process of enriching Uranium for use in a power plant is just a few steps away from atomic bomb Plutonium.
• Once countries get the nuclear energy capability, nuclear weapons aren’t far behind.

• While it’s only happened a few times, when reactors malfunction, they can “go nuclear”.
• When the heat absorbing water supply is cutoff, the nuclear material heats uncontrollably causing a meltdown of the rector building.
• In 1986, a malfunction at the Chernobyl reactor in Ukraine resulted in an explosion, core meltdown and radioactive cloud that spread over 1000 miles.
  • 92,000 people were evacuated and there is a 15 mile exclusion zone that is still not inhabited to this day.

• In 2011, an earthquake and resulting tsunami damaged the Fukushima reactor in Japan resulting in an explosion and core meltdown.
  • 136,000 people were evacuated and there is a 10 mile radius exclusion zone that extends into the ocean.
• A world leader in nuclear energy prior to the incident, Japan shut down their reactors seeking alternatives so they never had to deal with the situation again.

NUCLEAR accounts for 8% of all energy consumed in US

US produces the most nuclear energy in the world.

• France is a relatively large European country with a population of 69 million people.
• While the US may produce more total nuclear power, France gets the highest proportion of their energy from its 57 nuclear power plants!

• Once a nuclear plant is built and the fuel is mined and enriched, nuclear provides a super reliable and efficient energy source giving it an overall 1st place ICARE ranking.
  • While failure of systems can cause a literal nuclear meltdown, it is a very popular energy source worldwide.