Everything around you is made up of tiny objects called atoms. Most of the mass of each atom is concentrated in the center ( which is called the nucleus), and the rest of the mass is in the cloud of electrons surrounding the nucleus. Protons and neutrons are subatomic particles that comprise the nucleus. Under certain circumstances, the nucleus of a very large atom can spit in two. In this process, a certain amount of the large atom’s mass is converted to pure energy following einstein’s famous formula E=MC^2, where M is the small amount of mass and C is the speed of light ( a very large number). In the 1930’s and ‘40’s humans discovered this energy and recognized its potential as a weapon. Technology developed in the manhattan project successfully …show more content…
It also faces substantial economic challenges, and carries significant human health and environmental risks. UCS strongly supports policies and measures to strengthen the safety and security of nuclear power.
Nuclear power and natural gas
Today, nuclear power supplies approximately 20 percent of US electricity and is the third largest electricity source in the United States. Most existing US nuclear power plants have licenses that would allow them to operate until the 2030 to 2050 timeframe. However, low natural gas prices, increasingly affordable renewable technologies and grid improvements, declining demand for electricity, and costly age- and safety-related power plant repairs have led to some nuclear reactors being retiring abruptly, with little or no advance planning. Many are being replaced in large part by natural gas.
Though cleaner than coal, natural gas still generates unacceptably large amounts of carbon pollution, especially when the leakage of natural gas from pipelines and other infrastructure is considered. To the extent that a nuclear plant’s output is replaced by electricity from natural gas, the resulting emissions setback national efforts to achieve needed emissions