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Nuclear Energy

The study of nuclear energy began for the same reasons that most scientific studies are begun; to understand more about the universe and the laws by which the universe works. The more knowledge we have about the universe, the more we can control the world in which we live.

Nuclear energy is contained in the center, or nucleus of an atom. This energy is also known as atomic energy because its obtained from atoms, unfortunately this is not a good choice of words (because many other energies are obtained from atoms). An atomic bomb explosion shows just how powerful nuclear energy really is. Such as the underwater explosion of an atomic bomb at Bikini during 1946. This powerful type of energy comes from many things such as atoms and subatomic particles; an atom is a tiny bit of matter that has very little weight. They are much too light to be weighed directly, but scientists have developed methods of determining these tiny weighted by using special libratory instruments. Hydrogen is the lightest of all atoms and carbon atoms weigh twelve times more than the hydrogen atom. Atoms that make up one element are not like atoms that make up another element.

These (atoms) are not simple particles, their structure is very complex. They are, in fact, made up of smaller bits of matter called subatomic particles. An atom has two parts. Those two parts are; 1)at the center is a nucleus, a densely packed core composed of two kinds of particles: protons and neutrons and 2)electrons. The charge in a nucleus of an atom is carried by a particle called a proton, the number of protons in an atom's nucleus is called the atomic number of the atom. Atomic numbers are always whole numbers such as +92. Each atomic number is always a whole number, and each chemical element has its own atomic number. Protons have a positive electrical charge, yet electrons have a negative charge and since opposite charges attract, it keeps them in their orbits around the nucleus. Neutrons are neutral and weigh a bit more than protons. The breaking apart or joining together of atomic nuclei is called a nuclear reaction. A tremendous amount of energy may be released by a nuclear reaction. Nuclear energy is housed in a nuclear reactor. There are many types of nuclear reactors such as a pressurized water reactor.
There is no specific place where nuclear energy may be found, neither is there a special geographical place a nuclear power plant must be located. There are many hundreds of nuclear power plants throughout the world, not to mention, many military and research reactors. In the United states alone there are over a hundred plants; about 15% of the nations electricity is produced at these plants. France is the leading user of nuclear energy throughout the world, 65% of their electricity is produced in Nuclear power plants. Other leaders include; Belgium-60%, Sweden-50%, Switzerland-40%, Finland-38%, West Germany-30%, Japan-22%, Spain and Britain-20%, and Soviet-Union-14%. There have been many accidents concerning nuclear power plants, despite the usually good safety record. Two of the most serious accidents have taken place in; 1)the United States, when a Unit 2 power plant on Three Mile Island, Southeast of Harrisburg, Pennysania and 2) U.S.S.R. the worst accident concerning nuclear reactors occurred on April 26, 1986 at the Chernobyl reactor #4 located in a reactor complex near Kiev, Soviet Ukraine.
There are advantages and disadvantages

of nuclear power. Nuclear weapons are the most powerful and fearsome weapons ever introduced to man. Not only because of the enormous amount of physical damage that results from their detonation but also because of the radiation it releases. Radiation can have long-term effects on humans and our environment. these long-term effects consists of things like:
1) radiation disrupts the process that takes place in the nuclei of living organisms cells, decreasing the resistance of disease and increasing risks of developing cancer.
2)Abnormalities such as mongolism can be passed to offspring. The damage done to our environment is irreparable. Not to mention it is unknown if the disposal of nuclear waste will have any effects on our environment had we will not know until many years to come. The advantage of nuclear energy is it's a great source of power used to produce electricity for things such as light.

Many people throughout the world use nuclear energy in their everyday lives. It is used to produce electricity for running our homes, schools and businesses. Also lighting, heating and cooling.

Nuclear energy is better than any other type of energy because it is the most powerful type of energy that can be created.

It is better than the following energy for example:

1) Hydro energy, because when created, rivers have to be blocked by dams. Thereby, most likely, flooding of wastelands where certain animal types may have their homes would be destroyed and maybe even cause death to those animals. In same cases possible extinction.
2) Heat energy created by the burning of wood because it is very destructive to our forest. Trees are a necessity of oxygen, shelter and food to animals and even humans. Finally
3) solar energy because you don't have to depend on the sum to shine.

In conclusion due to the potential for accidents or sabotage at nuclear power plants, they are not as common as power plants for other types of power/energy. The problems associated with radioactive waste produced, these plants have long been a subject of controversy. The development of nuclear energy, for both peaceful and wartime uses is much more than a scientific issue. It is also a prominent public issue among people in all nations. Because of disasters at nuclear power plants such as the one at Chernobyl, people everywhere refuse to except nuclear power plants anywhere near their homes. They also refuse to have nuclear waste disposal sites near their homes no matter how safe the government and companies may say it is.

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