Nuclear Energy Research Paper

Abdelrahman Sirry

ISE 1801

Professor Danielski

Thursday March 3, 2016

Nuclear or solar?

For a second, imagine yourself in a frozen cabin, with wet wood, oil and wax, trying for hours to make a fire in order to get light and heat in your room. This procedure ended in 1897, thanks to the American inventor Thomas Edison, who was finally able to produce a long-lasting light-bulb in his laboratory. Although it looks simple that turning on the lights just require to turn the switch on, the scientific theory behind it is quite complicated. Creating an electrical system requires a conversion from any sort of energy to electrical energy. For example, one of the first electrical energy sources was coal. Burning coal produces high temperatures that transfer into potential energy. Potential energy is then changed to electrical by the application of stress.

Solar power is the most used renewable energy in the United States; nuclear energy is the third most non-renewable energy used. Their usage varies based on price differences, safety issues and environmental reasons. Nuclear energy is widely used in uninhabited regions. Because of its radiation emissions, uranium enrichment occurs in deserts or next to the oceans. In the United States, nuclear plants are found along the west and east coasts. For the middle states, nuclear plants are found in uninhabited areas. Oppositely, there are nearly no restrictions for solar panel usage. They can be used in any region in the world as long as the panels are perpendicular to the sunlight. As of today, the United States uses nuclear energy to produce nearly 20% of its electrical power. Oppositely, because of its high cost, solar energy represents only 4% of total energy consumption. Solar energy is also less efficient for some regions in the US because of long