Nuclear Power
The united states is the leading country in the nuclear power industry with over 100 reactors (Martin 1). Nuclear power is the modern day energy source that one can obtain from nuclear reactors. Nuclear reactors are machines that make electricity from an element called uranium. Over the years, scientists have evolved to many new methods of obtaining nuclear energy with enhanced safety. Understanding what happens at the subatomic level and how reactor infrastructure is setup to obtain electricity is essential for improvement in the nuclear power industry, economically and militaristically.
At the beginning of the nuclear power industry, the first power plants were just test facilities that were established in the 1960s. These facilities were built to confirm that one can obtain energy from radioactive atoms. After getting the first errors and prototypes out of the way, the industry grew because nuclear power was new, efficient, and did not have the pollution that fossil fuel did. This growth occurred until the twenty first century, and then halted because the total energy used was growing as a result of new technology. More electricity was needed and other methods like wind and
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Engineers and scientists knew of the potential dangers, and found solutions from the start. After the first safety precautions, such as enhanced sensory technology and equipment, it was never a huge issue until the Fukushima accident in 2011. The cause for this incident was a tsunami that had knocked out power in Eastern Japan. This lack of power stopped the circulation of water, the main coolant causing nuclear reactors in Fukushima to melt down. Nobody was killed due to radiation poisoning, but the government had evacuated 100,00 people. Now, safety has been put as the supreme idea. Lessons learned in the accident made it essential for the need