| In the effort to get away from our oil and | | | | energy. |
| coal dependency, nuclear energy is getting | | | | |
| attention again. Here is an overview of | | | | Nuclear fission is a fairly unstable process. |
| nuclear energy. | | | | Energy is produced by speeding up and slowing |
| | | | down the decay process. Essentially, it is a |
| Harnessing a chemical reaction at the nuclear | | | | balancing act. Allow the decay to happen to |
| level of certain materials produces nuclear | | | | quickly and your risk a meltdown. Although |
| energy. The process is known as nuclear | | | | meltdowns are rare, they are absolutely |
| fission. | | | | devastating when they occur. |
| | | | |
| Nuclear fission occurs when certain | | | | The best known nuclear disaster was Chernobyl |
| materials, such as uranium, are manipulated | | | | in 1986. Located in the Ukraine, the |
| in a manner that causes them to decay | | | | individuals controlling the reactor attempted |
| quickly. A byproduct of this decal is immense | | | | an ill-advised test. Blame has been put on |
| amounts of heat. The heat is then typically | | | | the controllers and the basic design of the |
| used to turn turbines much as occurs in | | | | plant, but nobody is really sure as to the |
| hydropower dams. The spinning turbines | | | | exact cause. What is known is control was |
| produce electricity, which is then used for | | | | lost and the nuclear fission went to fast. |
| commercial applications and propelling naval | | | | Huge steam explosions occurred followed by a |
| vessels such as submarines. | | | | full nuclear meltdown. A huge radioactive |
| | | | cloud escaped and dropped radioactive |
| The largest known nuclear reaction can be | | | | material over much of Eastern Europe. 330,000 |
| seen everyday in the sky. The sun is | | | | people around the reactor had to be |
| essentially a nuclear reaction, but on a much | | | | evacuated. Thousands died immediately. |
| larger scale than we could ever replicate. It | | | | Hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of |
| does not blow up because of its immense | | | | people have suffered health problems. Birth |
| gravity. It does, however, shoot off massive | | | | defects are a sad, regular occurrence. All |
| solar flares which contain more energy than | | | | and all, the meltdown produced 300 times the |
| we could use in years. | | | | radioactive material produced in the two |
| | | | bombs dropped on Japan at the end of the |
| Nuclear energy is a popular subject with | | | | Second World War. |
| governments because it produces a lot of | | | | |
| energy with relatively small resource | | | | Nuclear energy is a very efficient way to |
| requirements. Countries such as Russia, | | | | produce energy, but one that is extremely |
| France and China have invested heavily in | | | | devastating when it goes wrong. All and all, |
| nuclear energy production. There are, | | | | we are better off finding another platform |
| however, significant problems with nuclear | | | | for our energy needs. |