Faculty of engineering

Len Felipe Serna Montoya

Nuclear Energy
An engineering challenge

Throughout space there is energy... It is a mere question of time when men will succeed in attaching their machinery to the very wheelwork of nature. Nikola Tesla

The purpose of this essay is to analyze some aspects of nuclear energy and the interaction between man and this source of energy. Currently this topic has been of great discussion between people because of its dark history and the social issues caused by the nuclear plant at Fukoshima, Japan. All the news and newspapers around the world spoke about this disaster and all the problems due to the tsunami, but few people have evaluated the positive aspects of nuclear energy and its environmental impact over traditional energy sources. To discuss nuclear energy is very complicated, its undisputed that when somebody talks about radioactivity immediately feet tremble because of the history of multiple disasters, and its very difficult to forget the victims in the Ukraine and Japan. Debate on this theme is very complicated because many people think it is very dangerous and can produce a lot of waste. However few people have done research. I found two radical positions,; the first position takes a negative point of view and thinks that it is very dangerous and produces a lot of waste and they frequently refer to major disasters, but it is true: one empty city, many people with body deformities, one reactor closed with steel walls and a society with pain, but mysteriously few dead victims because the villain is silent. The world grows every day and needs energy. Many countries search for alternatives and here I found a second position where the nuclear power generation is a good solution for energy demand and good for the environment, you can imagine that uranium doesnt produce greenhouse gas, carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides and is very cheap. If you want to know more then you need to read this subject. The present text shows an overview of the dark history of the nuclear energy, pros and cons of nuclear power and to finish the generation of electricity in the world thanks to uranium.

Faculty of engineering

Len Felipe Serna Montoya

On 26th April 1986 The Chernobyl disaster is the worlds worst environmental disaster. It has started an endless chain reaction which has affected millions of people. The number affected may never be known and the number of people who have died or who could eventually die is highly controversial. The Chernobyl disaster has certainly had the effect of multiplying any previous problems that existed in society by many times and as usual it is the weakest in such societies that suffer the most. While the experts argue the statistics, the fact remains that thousands of children continue to suffer.1 The Chernobyl nuclear power plant operators were doing a test to see what would happen in the event of an unexpected loss of electric power, but something triggered a chain of events that ended the lives of 31 people. When testing, the operator made an error because the automatic cooling system valves had been shut down and locked. This caused an increase in pressure and to try to extinguish the reaction dropped water into reactor and increase the pressure due to steam. When the reactor exceeded the internal pressure it inevitably exploded. It is delicate but the major failure was political management because they hid the disaster from the world. While Chernobyl town was evacuated, nearby cities and countries were unaware of the threat. The international community was warned of high amounts of radioactivity in the atmosphere due to rainfall or the direction of wind over particular countries, Belarus was the most affected. This problem came from the hands of the Ukraine and became a European problem. The reactor burned for around six months while experts and thousands of volunteers sacrificed their lives to protect the world. During this time many people were affected and lot of children were born with body deformities. Currently Chernobyl town is uninhabited, the reactor is closed with steel walls and a society is left with pain but there are few dead victims because the villain is silent. On August 6th, 1945, the United States used a massive, atomic weapon against Hiroshima, Japan. This atomic bomb, the equivalent of 20,000 tons of TNT, flattened the city, killing tens of thousands of civilians. While Japan was still trying to comprehend this devastation three days later, the United States struck again, this time, on Nagasaki.2

1 2

http://www.chernobylchildren.ie/chernobyl_disaster.html 12th August 2012 http://history1900s.about.com/od/worldwarii/a/hiroshima.htm 12th August 2012

Faculty of engineering

Len Felipe Serna Montoya

A point that many opponents use against nuclear energy is the new creation of nuclear weapons, but I think that all things in this world are used for the war, and its a social subject for example plane, boats and satellites are used like weapons. However the scientific society should not stop research and projects.

In Japan 2011 a Tsunami destroyed the peace and tranquility and Fukushima nuclear power plant released large amounts of radioactive contamination into the atmosphere. This plant was designed to withstand strong earthquakes however this tsunami exceeded the limits, and produced a big disaster in this island, regrettably. These events opened the controversy again about nuclear energy and led to decreased economic and nuclear activity. Absolutely all countries know about the benefits of electricity and that it represents a pattern of progress, industrial development, social growth and the need to meet growing market energy demand. We have analyzed the disadvantages of generating electricity with Uranium, first high risk despite a generally high security standard, accidents can still happen; second nuclear waste could be preferred targets for terrorist attacks; Third the construction time of a plant is high; Fourth the problem of radioactive waste is still an unsolved one. The waste from nuclear energy is extremely dangerous and it has to be carefully looked after for several thousand years (10,000 years according to United States Environmental Protection Agency standards). For me this is the major problem because currently there is no complete development of waste management. A nuclear plant produces the same amount of waste as a soccer field during its lifetime, and what is the lifetime of a plant? (In US minimum 60 years). However the nuclear energy has important advantages. First nuclear power generation emits relatively low amounts of carbon dioxide (CO2), nitrogen oxides and greenhouse gas; second the uranium natural source for generation is virtually inexhaustible, because this is in large quantities in wilderness areas and is only used for this purpose; Third it is more efficient in producing electric power, it requires less raw material to produce electrical power than typical sources, Four the price of a kilowatt is less than from other sources although the building of the plant is expensive.

Faculty of engineering

Len Felipe Serna Montoya

France is the country with the greatest dependence on nuclear energy with a 77, 1% of share of electricity production, however it is also a good producer with 63,130 Megawatt capacity. Actually Russia built one of the safest and secure plants that could have withstood the tsunami of Japan. This table shows the biggest consumers and producers of nuclear energy around the world. Although contradictors think that this is not feasible, the advantages are undisputed even governments are forced to continue operating these plants. Some opponents say the follow: Greenpeace has always fought - and will continue to fight - vigorously against nuclear power because it is an unacceptable risk to the environment and to humanity. The only solution is to halt the expansion of all nuclear power, and for the shutdown of existing plants.

We need an energy system that can fight climate change, based on renewable energy and energy efficiency. Nuclear power already delivers less energy globally than renewable energy, and the share will continue to decrease in the coming years.3 Text taken from Green peace organization website: www.greenpeace.org However the only solution is not to halt the expansion of all nuclear power, the solution is not to surrender to the obstacles; the solution is not fear of adversities you can imagine Wright brothers, Michelangelo, Alessandro Volta, Ludwig Van Beethoven or Nikola Tesla if they had surrendered to the obstacles how would the world be today?. This is true that is tech is very dangerous but we need are more careful and innovative solutions. Energy generation depends one hundred percent on climate change, especially the alternatives sources (wind, sun, geochemical or ocean). This problem is the most important against development of this technology. The industry, house, office, school and building cant depend on if the wind is adequate or not, However every day many engineers are researching and building new solutions because the alternative sources are very good solutions for global energy growth.

http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/campaigns/nuclear/ 12th August 2012

Faculty of engineering

Len Felipe Serna Montoya

The concept of renewable energy means virtually inexhaustible due to the life-cycle for example of wind generation, because the wind travels across the turbine and doesnt transform the energy forms as new wind is naturally generated. The opposite occurs with fossil fuels. The Uranium is virtually inexhaustible because it is abundant in natural form and doesnt have another application. Solar energy generation is very inefficient, however it is very viable because the sun appears all over the earth, actually the development of solar power requires larger areas to produce less electrical power. Nuclear energy is definitely the most efficient way to generate electricity, not to produce high amounts of carbon dioxide (CO2), especially when is compared with fossil fuels and the reduced price of the kilowatts. However I think that more research is mandatory. The Testing and innovation in the future can reduce the high risk in the operation and wastes of nuclear energy. Engineers have been challenging nature for example when they crossed the sea with boats, when they went through the air across continents, when they generate power using a windmill, when data conveyed through radio frequency and when they accelerate particles.

Engineers have been challenged with nuclear energy, but It is a mere question of time when men will succeed in attaching their machinery to the very wheelwork of nature.

Faculty of engineering

Len Felipe Serna Montoya

Cybergraphy
http://timeforchange.org/pros-and-cons-of-nuclear-power-and-sustainability http://www.cfr.org/interactives/IG_Nuclear/index.html?cid=ppc-Google-grantnuclear_energy_guide-nuclear_energy&gclid=CLKik_-knbACFUyb7Qodb3KqYg http://www.nei.org/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_power_by_country http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HUVP7MEJJ7E http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombardeos_at%C3%B3micos_sobre_Hiroshima_y_Nagasaki http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accidente_nuclear_de_Fukushima_I http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accidente_de_Chern%C3%B3bil http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dpGlefCXZAY http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HUVP7MEJJ7E

http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/news/features/chernobyl-deaths180406/#a0 http://www.chernobylchildren.ie/chernobyl_disaster.html http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/chernobyl/inf07.html http://nei.org/

http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/System-templates/Searchresults/?all=nuclear%20power%20 http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/news/features/Worldwide-wrapup/ http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/news/features/Worldwide-wrapup/ http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/campaigns/nuclear/ http://nei.org/keyissues/protectingtheenvironment/ http://fukushimaupdate.com/belgium-shuts-down-nuclear-plant-over-safety-fears/ http://fukushimaupdate.com/archiv/ http://nei.org/resourcesandstats/publicationsandmedia/insight/ http://nei.org/keyissues/protectingtheenvironment/cleanair/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economics_of_new_nuclear_power_plants http://www.lvbeethoven.com/Bio/BiographyLudwig.html http://history1900s.about.com/od/worldwarii/a/hiroshima.htm http://www.fisicahoy.com/talleres/fision_nuclear_reacciones_en_cadena