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Nuclear Energy Research Paper

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Nuclear energy is energy that comes from uranium. One uranium fuel pellet the size of the tip of a pencil eraser - produces the same energy as 17,000 cubic feet of natural gas, 1,780 pounds of coal or 149 gallons of oil. The energy is released in two ways; nuclear fusion and nuclear fission. Nuclear fusion energy is released when atoms are joined together to make a larger atom and Nuclear fission is the opposite and is when atoms separate making smaller atoms. Nuclear plants use nuclear fission to create energy. When the energy is released the energy is used to make steam, steam is then used to power a turbine to generate electricity. What a great way to produce electricity. People debate on the positives and negatives of nuclear energy, …show more content…
The waste from the reactor is radioactive, some being long term and some being short term. There is low level waste and high level radioactive waste. Low level waste is the waste produced from cleaning materials and plant maintenance. High level waste is the fuel rods that come from the reactors after they can no longer react. Unlike coal which is just piled up into hills, which release iron, manganese and aluminum pollution that leaks into waterways and cause poisonous drainage killing other neighboring streams, nuclear waste is stored safely at reactor sites in steel-lined concrete pools which are filled with water (water is a good shield) and steel/concrete containers. Nuclear waste can also be recycled. In the fuel uranium and plutonium , oxygen and steel. After the uranium fuel is used, it can be treated and put back in the reactor and can be used as fuel. The final recycled waste that is left over, then decays to be harmless for a few hundred years. Whereas waste that is not recycled would last a few million years. Nuclear energy is a friend and we need to build a power …show more content…
Nuclear energy is known to be one of the most biggest clean-air energy source and the only one that can produce huge amounts of clean electricity fast. In the whole fuel cycle, nuclear energy only emits up to 9- 20 grams of carbon per kilowatt of the electricity being produced. Greenhouse gas emissions in nuclear energy are the lowest of any electricity generators. The only time it gives out greenhouse gas emissions is when mining and milling is happening to find uranium, the manufacture of the enriched fuel elements, the construction and the decomposing of the waste. Compared to coal which lifecycle is 30 times bigger than nuclear and natural gas which lifecycle is 15 times bigger than nuclear, nuclear energy is the way to produce clean safe electricity. The greenhouse gas emitted by human activities is carbon dioxide and 40 percent of the emission comes from the burning of fossil fuels to generate electricity. Nuclear energy is also the only energy industry which actually takes responsibility for all it's

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