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Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala

Facultad de ingeniera

TECHNICAL
ENGLISH

III

NUCLEAR POWER

Rosa Andrea Cmez Cate

Jos Fernando Prez Prez
Jose Luis Fuentes Quiroa

2014-03834
201404272
2014-04291

INDEX
INTRODUCTION

OBJETIVES

NUCLEAR POWER

ADVANTAGES
DISADVANTAGES
POWER PLANTS

7
7
8

CONCLUTIONS

REFERENCE GUIDE

INTRODUCTION

Nuclear power is the energy that we can get from the atoms using tree
different processes. In this investigation we are going to present and try to
explain you in a simple way how we can get nuclear energy and also the
process to convert into electricity. Another important think that we are going
to mention for the purpose of this research is the advantages, disadvantages
and the plants of nuclear power that are actually working.

OBJECTIVES
GENERAL OBJETIVE

Define what is nuclear energy and expose how is used currently.

SPECIFIC OBJECTIVE

To undestand the history of how the nuclear power born.

To determine the advantages of the nuclear energy.

NUCLEAR POWER
HISTORY
The pursuit of nuclear energy for electricity generation began soon after the
discovery in the early 20th century that radioactive elements, such as radium,
released immense amounts of energy, according to the principle of mass
energy equivalence. However, means of harnessing such energy was
impractical, because intensely radioactive elements were, by their very
nature, short-lived.
In 1932, James Chadwick discovered the neutron, which was immediately
recognized as a potential tool for nuclear experimentation because of its lack
of an electric charge. Experimentation with bombardment of materials with
neutrons led Frdric and Irne Joliot-Curie to discover induced radioactivity
in 1934, which allowed the creation of radium-like elements at much less the
price of natural radium.
But in 1938, German chemists Otto Hahn and Fritz Strassmann, along with
Austrian physicist Lise Meitner and Meitner's nephew, Otto Robert Frisch,
conducted experiments with the products of neutron-bombarded uranium,
as a means of further investigating Fermi's claims. They determined that the
relatively tiny neutron split the nucleus of the massive uranium atoms into two
roughly equal pieces, contradicting Fermi. This was an extremely surprising
result: all other forms of nuclear decay involved only small changes to the
mass of the nucleus, whereas this process involved a complete rupture of the
nucleus.
Installed nuclear capacity initially rose relatively quickly, rising from less than 1
gigawatt (GW) in 1960 to 100 GW in the late 1970s, and 300 GW in the late

1980s. Since the late 1980s worldwide capacity has risen much more slowly,
reaching 366 GW in 2005. Between around 1970 and 1990, more than 50 GW
of capacity was under construction in 2005, around 25 GW of new capacity
was planned.

WHAT IS NUCLEAR POWER?

Nuclear energy is energy in the nucleus (core) of an atom. Atoms are tiny
particles that make up every object in the universe. There is enormous energy
in the bonds that hold atoms together. Nuclear energy can be used to make
electricity. But first the energy must be released. It can be released from
atoms in two ways: nuclear fusion and nuclear fission. In nuclear fusion,
energy is released when atoms are combined or fused together to form a
larger atom. This is how the sun produces energy. In nuclear fission, atoms are
split apart to form smaller atoms, releasing energy. Nuclear power plants use
nuclear fission to produce electricity.

ADVANTAGES:
Clear power with no atmospheric emissions
Currently, fossil fuels are consumed faster than they are
produced, so

in

the

next

future

these

resources may

be

reduced or the price may increase becoming inaccessible for

most of the population.
The generation of electricity through nuclear energy reduce s
the amount of energy generated from fossil fuels (coal and
oil). Less use of fossil fuels means lowering greenhouse gas
emissions (CO 2 and others).
Fuel can be recycled
The production of electric energy is continuous. A nuclear
power plant is generating electricity for almost 90% of annual
time. It reduces the price volatility of other fuels such as petrol.
Low cost power for todays consumption
Viable form of energy in countries that do not have access to other
forms of fuel
Nuclear power stations do not contribute to carbon emissions - no
CO2 is given out - it therefore does not contribute to global warming.

DISADVANTAGES
One of the main disadvantages is the difficulty in the management of
nuclear waste. It takes many years to eliminate its radioactivity and
risks.
The constructed nuclear reactors have an expiration date. Then,
they've to be dismantled, so that main countries producing nuclear
energy could maintain a regular number of operating reactors. They've
to build about 80 new nuclear reactors during the next ten years.

 Nuclear power plants generate external dependence. Not

many countries have uranium mines and not all the countries
have nuclear technology, so they have to hire both things
overseas.
Disposal of nuclear waste is very expensive. As it is radioactive it has to
be disposed of in such a way as it will not pollute the environment.
Decommissioning of nuclear power stations is expensive and takes a
long time.
For most locations, wind power density is low
Wind velocity must be greater than 7 mph to be usable in most areas
Problem exists in variation of power density and duration (not reliable)

POWER PLANTS

Just as many conventional thermal power stations generate electricity by

harnessing the thermal energy released from burning fossil fuels, nuclear
power plants convert the energy released from the nucleus of an atom via
nuclear fission that takes place in a nuclear reactor. The heat is removed from
the reactor core by a cooling system that uses the heat to generate steam,
which drives a steam turbine connected to a generator producing electricity.

CONCLUTIONS
1. The nuclear energy is the energy that we can get from the nucleus of an
atom, using nuclear fusion and fision as the processes to get it.

2. For the best use of this resource it had a lot of experiment through
many years
3. The primary advantage is that can be renewable, it reduces the use of
fuel because currently the use of fossil fuels consume faster than
they produce and it does not need atmospheric emissions.

REFERENCE GUIDE
1. Nuclear Power: Advantages and Disadvantages (2015). Retrieved
March

2,

2015,

from:

http://www.cyberphysics.co.uk/topics/nuclear/advantages_disadvant
ages_nuclear_power.htm
2. Nuclear Energy. (2014, January 1). Retrieved March 2, 2015, from
http://www.nnr.co.za/what-is-nuclear-energy
3. Nuclear

Power.

March

2,

2015

from:

http://homepages.spa.umn.edu/~larry/ADVANTAGE_DIS_ENERGY.pdf