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Transformative Essay: The Use Of Nuclear Energy

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When it gets dark, what is one of the first things you may do? Turn on a light, right? Have you ever stopped to think about where the electricity comes from to make that light work? If not, you are not alone. If you reside in the eastern part of the United States, you will find a very high concentration of nuclear power plants. So, there is a good chance that the electricity you have in your home is provided by one of these plants. This type of energy was thought to be a wonderful thing when it was first discovered, however, there are many procedures needed to keep it safe and disposal of its waste has become a serious problem.

Nuclear Energy began to emerge in 1895 when a scientist named, Wilhelm Rontgen, discovered the X-ray. During …show more content…

They both heat water that produces steam and that steam is used to turn turbines which produce electricity. However, nuclear energy is produced by fission. Fission energy occurs when one atom splits in two. When this happens, an extreme amount of energy is created. Uranium is used because it is an unstable mineral that is constantly breaking down or decaying, so it undergoes fission but at a very slow rate. To increase the speed of fission, a free neutron is fired into the nucleus of the Uranium atom where the nucleus absorbs it. The atom then becomes unstable and the atom splits …show more content…

The Chernobyl disaster was caused by the reactor overheating and the cooling water turned to steam which allowed the inside pressure to explode out of the building. The reactor in this plant was not kept in a containment vessel. The Three Mile Island disaster was due to a failed coolant system and the reactor melted down, however, since it was kept in a containment vessel, there was no explosion and very little radioactive steam was released into the atmosphere. The Fukushima disaster was caused by a Tsunami. The shock from the earthquake caused the reactors to all shut down, however, power was lost, and the reactors overheated and melted down and several explosions allowed radioactive material to

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