news details |
|
|
| Different developmental uses of nuclear energy | | |
Dr. Rajkumar Singh
Nuclear Power is a extremely valuable energy. It allows the generation of massive amounts of clean, inexpensive electricity from reasonably common resources. The most common method today to obtain this energy is through nuclear fission, other methods include nuclear fusion and radioactive decay. All current methods involve heating a working fluid as heavy water, which is then converted into mechanical work for the purpose of generating electricity or propulsion. Presently, about more than 15 per cent of the worlds’ electricity comes from nuclear power, over 150 nuclear-powered naval vassels have been built and a few radioisotope rockets have been produced. The world’s energy demand is projected to grow by 50 per cent by 2030.
Growing importance of nuclear energy
To meet the short-term demand, the use of coal and other fossil fuels will increase. In that kind of situation, Nuclear energy is one of the most viable alternatives to oil, particularly, because, it is capable of supplying such massive amounts of energy. According to Stanford study, fast breeder reactors, that convert Uranium into other nuclear fuels while generating energy, and it has the potential to generate energy for billions of year. The massive increase in demand for electricity expected in the 21st a massive amount of electricity. Coal is an option, but it is highly destructive to pollute air quality and the global environment. Nuclear energy is really the only other massive abundant, massive productive source of electricity capable of meeting these rising demands. Thus, despite the fear attached with nuclear power a large number of scholars in the US and outside, has favoured the development of nuclear energy to make the world safe from power scarcity. Among them is famous economist Jeffrey Sachs, a distinguished professor of sustainability from Columbia University, who has endorsed nuclear energy as the pivotal clean technology. Professor David MacKay, the UK government’s chief scientific adviser on climate change, has said, ‘You cannot meet Britain’s future energy needs and reduce carbon emissions without a big expansion of nuclear power. He believes that Britain should aim to be producing four times the amount of electricity from nuclear as now. Alternative energy sources such as wind, solar and wave power will never provide more than a fraction of the country’s energy needs. Relying on gas, coal and oil, with an increasing proportion imported, does not square with Britain’s international climate commitments. Energy is the most fundamental requirement of every society or nation as it progresses through the latter of development.
Peacetime uses of nuclear energy
In post-World War-II decades application of nuclear energy in peacetime or non-military use of nuclear explosives became one of the most attractive alternatives. It was clear from weapon tests that nuclear explosions release vast amount of heat and excavate huge holes in the earth. From experiments it seem that there are several possible industrial applications. For instance, electrical power might be produced by using the heat of the explosion which was trapped underground. The heat could be extracted by driving tunnels to the site of the explosion and flooding the shattered rock with a heat transfer liquid. A nuclear explosion underground might also be used to break up huge quantities of rock in low grade ore-fields too poor for conventional mining. Even in case of surface explosions, it might be possible to use nuclear explosives for civil engineering excavations in remote regions. In addition when a reactor works and produces atomic energy, it also produces large amounts of radioactive substances. Many of these are today adding to man’s knowledge and giving him better health and better living conditions. Powers obtained from atoms directly and through reactors in the form of radioisotopes included in nuclear energy.
At the present time most of the power we need is generated by burning coal and oil. At some future time all the coal and oil in the world will be exhausted due to over-using of these resources but on the other the demand for power is growing at an amazing speed. There are several reasons for the increase in the demand for power: the population of the world is growing very rapidly; many countries that were underdeveloped are now becoming industrialised; and standards of living are rising everywhere. As a result more and more people consume more and more power in their homes, and they also want more and more goods made with machines that need power to run. At the juncture man is fortunate that it has learned to generate power from atomic energy.
Generation of electric power
The very first and foremost use of atomic energy is in generation of electric power. It is generated in an atomic power plant that is, in principle, not very different from a regular plant generating electricity from fossil fuels. A regular plant consists essentially of a boiler, a turbine and a generator. In the boiler, coal or oil burns to develop heat which changes water into steam.
The steam makes the turbine turn, and the turbine drives the generator. While running, the generator produces electricity, which is then sent into power lines and distributed where needed. In an atomic power plant, a reactor—a modern atomic pile-takes the place of boiler. When the reactor chain reacts and releases atomic energy; it becomes very hot. The heat thus produced changes water into steam. As in a regular power plant, the steam turns the turbine, and the turbine drive s the generator. The generator produces electricity, In most modern power plants now being built are entirely enclosed in round domes of steel or other materials that stop the passage of all radioactivity. These domes are meant to protect the population in case a reactor should not work properly and radioactivity leak out. In modern time even poor countries are constructing smaller plants in which their scientists and engineers can learn how to generate electricity from atoms and how to solve the difficulties that arise when reactors work to make atoms spilt. The first atomic plant in the world to generate electricity was built in the Soviet Union and started working from June 1954; the second being England in October, world over are very good. The atomic power will help under- developed countries where there are large areas without railways or good roads, where it would be difficult to transport coal or oil. In the sense nuclear fuels are much more compact than coal or oil; for one pound of uranium can do the work of more than one million pounds of coal.
Atomic power can also be used to drive ships and to heat buildings. For the purpose of driving ships the atomic power has the advantage of being much more compact than any other fuel. In atomic ships, much of this space can be put to other uses and the ship can make many trips without refuelling. In July 1959 at Camden, New Jersey, the merchant ship Savannah, of the United States was launched. Apart from this the heat produced when a reactor operates may be used directly to heat buildings. At the first conference (1955) on the peaceful uses of atomic energy, this use of reactors was along the topics discussed by scientists. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
STOCK UPDATE |
|
|
 |
| BSE
Sensex |
 |
| NSE
Nifty |
|
|
| |
CRICKET UPDATE |
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
