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Benefits of relying on nuclear energy essay
Hydrogen energy essay
What are the positive effects of nuclear power
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Hydrogen is an environmentally friendly energy that, dissimilar to electricity, could be put away in substantial amounts securely. Hydrogen will be the fuel of the 21st century; however, hydrogen is not a principal energy source it is produced largely from fossil fuels like natural gas, liquid hydrocarbons and coal. In the State of the Union address, President Bush announced a $1.2 billion dollar initiative to start building up a national hydrogen infrastructure. President Bush’s program was to generate hydrogen using nuclear energy, which has significant potential advantages over the other processes. Nuclear power in the United States today is the used extensively for producing electricity. The growth of more nuclear power plants will make it economically feasible for the nuclear industry to create hydrogen in large enough amounts to be employed as a transportation fuel, for a hydrogen economy. More Nukes At one time, the United States was the world pioneer in handling power with atomic force, yet today it positions fourth behind France, Japan, and South Korea. (Stieglitz, 2009, n.p.) The United States can lead the world again with the latest advancements in nuclear technology to not only make more electricity, but also a viable alternative energy called hydrogen. Today, the dominant part of hydrogen is transformed from common gas; nonetheless, scrutiny has been dedicated to distinguishing other potential resources for hydrogen creation. (Tylim, 2009, n.p.) One existing form of production that has been around just about since the 1950s is hydrogen production using water-cooled nuclear reactors. The nuclear reactor is the only energy source that exists today that is capable of creating hydrogen on a large-scale, consistent basis... ... middle of paper ... ...uld be made inexpensively and in bulk for the nation’s demands. Hydrogen created using nuclear power can be produced in bulk capacity, is sustainable, and can replace the need of a crude oil base. (Tylim, 2009, n.p) Nuclear power can provide the United States with enough hydrogen energy to fulfill its future needs. Nuclear power generation for the byproduct of hydrogen is safe and dependable technology. A large quantity of hydrogen can be created from nuclear fission, so that the United States possesses a practicable alternative to fossil fuels. Nuclear energy is not limited in technological advancements and has a greater design than just the production of electricity and weapon programs. The United States owns the technology to again pioneer the use of nuclear energy and bound up the world’s first hydrogen economy and infrastructure for real energy independence.
Development of the Hydrogen Bomb In the world, there is little thing called power. Many countries want to have great power, few get it. Powers gave the Soviet Union and the U.S. the ability to dominate in wars. In the 1950’s during the Cold War these two countries had a race to see who could create the most powerful weapon the world has ever seen, the Hydrogen Bomb. Edward Teller, an atomic physicist, and Stanislaw Marcin Ulam, a mathematician, "who together developed the Teller-Ulam design in 1951" for the Hydrogen Bomb (Teller-Ulam Design).
On the other hand, hydrogen has a very limited infrastructure which is considered as a point on the negative side, or you can say one of hydrogen’s cons. And as Kukreja argues about the pros and cons of hydrogen energy; he mentions that “Hydrogen is also hard to move around. Whereas oil can be sent through pipelines, and coal can be carried in the back of dump trucks, super-light hydrogen is hard to transport in a reasonable fashion. It is very expensive to move anything more than small amounts of it, making it impractical for most functions.” [Kukreja] What he said makes sense. Hydrogen is some sort of gas. It’s not a liquid, or solid which can be physically carried in a way or another. Kukreja also mentions that one of the hydrogen energy cons is that it is “Not easy to replace existing infrastructure” [Kukreja] In a common sense, that is logically true. But in reality, if we felt into a problem that is related to global warming. Then the globe would regret building those gasoline stations. Even though it is hard to replace existing infrastructure, it is also necessary to get rid of those infrastructure even if we didn’t have a replacement. But in our position, we actually have a replacement which is hydrogen energy and hydrogen fuel
There are many sources of energy today, and the best source of it is constantly being sought after, one source stands out above the rest. Nuclear energy is simple in theory, yet it may be one of the most controversial sources of power. Nuclear energy works using reactors built to split the atoms (nuclear fission) of the fuel to produce heat. This heat evaporates the cooling agent (usually water) into steam which turns turbines to create electricity. Nuclear energy should be allowed, because it produces an abundance of electricity, as well as being a clean source of energy with no harmful emissions. Nuclear energy is the future of clean, environmentally friendly energy.
Energy is undoubtedly one of the most important issues facing the world today. While fossil fuels may produce enough energy at a low cost, they also have severe environmental impacts on the world. Wind energy is a clean source, but is also extremely expensive to maintain. Nuclear energy may be the best energy alternative to coal and oil, with the ability to produce much more energy at relatively low cost, while also being more environmentally sound. Nuclear Power comes from the process of splitting Uranium Atoms (also called fission), which in turn releases copious amounts of energy in the form of heat.
Nuclear power may lead to some extensive breakthroughs in multiple fields for better or for worse in the case of humanity and its survival. It’s a topic that people need to take a bit more seriously as it holds the chance to make or break the future for earth and its inhabitants. Greater risks have greater rewards and as observance of nuclear products and ideas deepen then so do the products yield, perhaps into infinity. While nuclear power is accompanied by several risks, it can also be the solution for various global strains and difficulties. Sufficient energy for the world is a huge goal to tackle and requires the use of any efficient resource we have, especially when the source has so much potential.
After the United States developed the atomic at the end of World War II, interest in nuclear technology increased exponentially. People soon realized that nuclear technology could be used for electricity, as another alternative to fossil fuels. Today, nuclear power has its place in the world, but there is still a lot of controversy over the use of nuclear energy. Things such as the containment of radiation and few nuclear power plant accidents have given nuclear power a bad image. However, nuclear power is a reliable source of energy because it has no carbon emissions, energy is available at any time, little fuel is needed for a lot of energy, and as time goes on, it is becoming safer and safer.
Nuclear Energy has many proponents and much opposition. Many of the groups that oppose nuclear power have legitimate concerns, mainly with the dangers of nuclear material in relation with human health concerns and environmental troubles that are risked by allowing nuclear power plants to increase in number. Yet, many of these opposition groups have made outspoken and radical claims about the “hidden” motives of why nuclear power is promoted and subsidized by our federal government. For example, The Nuclear Information and Resource Service claim that the federal government has the intention of committing genocide against Native Americans because uranium mining is predominantly done on reservations. Another cry out by nuclear power opponents is the constant reliving of the few nuclear mishaps that occurred decades ago, at Chernobyl or Three Mile Island. No doubt, past accidents have happened worldwide and are important reminders to not play around with nuclear material, but technology has improved as well, a fact opponents fail to consider. Many of these organizations feel that other sources should be used to supply America’s energy needs. These types of statements tag many opponents to nuclear energy as misinformed, out of touch with scientific facts, or just closed minded to the whole concept of nuclear power. On the other hand, the proponents of nuclear energy like President Bush see it as cheap, and environmentally friendly. As a result, President Bush passed the Comprehensive Energy Bill in 2005 that would increase production of all types of energy, including nuclear, by giving subsidies and tax breaks to nuclear power producers. Keeping safe America’s capabilities for generating electric power by way of nuclear e...
...ing nuclear waste is a new and unsound technology, but still a solution to the problems of excessive waste. Where in the future, new technologies may allow for the waste to be completely recycled and reused in the reactors to create more energy. With both positives and negatives of nuclear energy, the real question that remains is “if not nuclear, then what else?” (Rutgers’s Felder)
The world is facing an energy crisis and many are unaware of this growing problem. Sustainability is avoiding depletion of our natural resources in order to provide for future generations, and the only way to ensure that resources are available into the future is to find alternative sources to meet the world’s energy needs. Nuclear energy is just one source of alternative energy being implemented today in an effort to support the needs of the population and mitigate global climate change. Nuclear energy holds the necessary benefits in order to continue being used globally as an alternative solution.
The use of nuclear energy has increased in the United States since 1973. Nuclear energy's share of U.S. electricity generation has grown from 4 percent in 1973 to 19 percent in 1998. This is excellent news for the environment. Nuclear energy and hydropower are the cleanest large-scale means of electricity production. Since nuclear power plants do not burn fuel, they emit no combustion byproducts—like carbon dioxide—into the atmosphere (www.nei.org). Nuclear power can come from the fission of Uranium, plutonium or thorium or the fusion of hydrogen into helium. Today uranium (U-235 and U-238) is most commonly used in the production of nuclear energy. The expa...
One of the biggest and most prevalent problems is the need for clean, renewable, sustainable energy. On the forefront of these problems comes the following solutions: nuclear energy, hydro-electric energy, and photovoltaic energy. With the need for energy in today’s current world, exploring different ways of producing power is necessary. The differences and similarities between nuclear energy and alternative energy are important to look over and examine in depth, so that it is plain to see the positive and negative effects of energy production. To begin, nuclear power is produced by nuclear fission, which is the splitting of an atom to start a chain reaction (“11 Facts”).
Hart, David. " Hydrogen: A Truly Sustainable Transport Fuel?" Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 1.3 (2003): 138-45. Web. Kühne, Reinhart. "
Hydrogen is one of the most abundant elements on the earth. It can be found in the oceans as well as the atmosphere. Over the last few years, talk about the future of hydrogen power has grown from a whisper to a roar. The use of hydrogen is not just the burning of the gas, but of its use in a fuel cell. Fuel cells might be the device that causes the extinction of the internal combustion engine. A fuel cell is a device that produces electricity from a fuel and an oxidizer, a substance that combines with the fuel. The fuel and oxidizer react chemically at two separate electrodes to produce the direct electric current; These cells use hydrogen as the fuel and oxygen as the oxidizer. Hydrogen power could be the silver bullet to the current and future energy situation.
Unfortunately, nearly 20% of the energy that the United States thrives on is imported, and not from particularly friendly sources. In fact, our dependence on imported oil and gas has a direct correlation with the nation’s defense budget, meaning that gaining energy independence will help to improve national security. Whereas the fossil fuel industries cannot function without imported gas and oil, all of the uranium used to fabricate nuclear fuel can be mined and processes in the United States. What’s more, is that this supply of uranium is abundant and can continue to fuel nuclear power plants for many years to come. By dissolving our dependence on foreign oil and gas, we can avoid the uncertainties that accompany the world market and ensure the independence of our energy supply.