An Overview of Nuclear Energy

Nuclear energy is an inevitable part of modern life, and you can not live without it. Currently, almost every country has its Nuclear Energy plants. There are numerous uses of nuclear energy in everyday life that we do not even recognise. Nuclear energy is essential, from producing electricity to turning turbines or heating water to produce steam.

But Nuclear energy can be harmful as exposing the human body to it in excess can harm living cells and even cause death.

What is Nuclear Energy?

Nuclear energy is a kind of energy that is released from the nucleus. The nucleus is the core of every atom, and it is constituted of two elements called Neutron and Proton. This nuclear energy is generally released in two ways one is fission, and the other is fusion. 

Nuclear fission happens when the nucleus of an atom splits into different parts. And on the other hand, Nuclear fusion happens when different nuclei fuse. 

Although Nuclear fusion is a worldwide popular method to derive nuclear energy from nuclei, electricity production is the ideal example of nuclear energy generation. But nuclear fission is also a useful way to extract Nuclear energy. 

A brief history of Nuclear Energy

In 1938, the first Nuclear energy was discovered through Nuclear fission. At the Argonne national laboratory, EBR-1, nuclear energy was discovered through lighting up bulbs. 

But this discovery of nuclear energy took more than four decades of radioactivity and Nuclear physics research. After confirming the Argonne national laboratory’s experiment in 1939, scientists from multiple countries urged their governments to support nuclear fission experiments. 

And currently, almost every country has its nuclear energy plants. Therefore, nuclear energy in everyday life has become an integral part of today’s world. Soviet Russia, the United States, and China have the largest energy plants.

Facts about Nuclear Energy

Here are some of the facts about nuclear energy:

1. There are 400+ nuclear energy plants all over the world. And they are producing energy for almost 31 countries.
2. In 1954, the Obninsk power plant of Soviet Russia first produced electricity through atoms’ energy.
3. There have been three massive incidents in the long history of nuclear energy. All of these three incidents impacted the environment to a large extent. These three incidents are the Three Miles Island, Fukushima, and Chernobyl incidents.
4. All Nuclear Energies are derived through two basic processes – fission when nuclei split apart or fusion when it fusses with another nucleus.
5. Uranium is a fuel that is greatly used to produce nuclear energy. But as this fuel can also be used as a nuclear reactor or work in nuclear weapons production, only nuclear non-proliferation treaty members can import and export uranium, plutonium, and other nuclear fuels.
6. All nuclear wastes are very harmful to humans and the earth. They have a great potential to pollute the environment and cause crises due to their radioactive materials. One fine example of such a nuclear waste crisis is the Chernobyl incident in Ukraine in 1986.

Examples of nuclear energy

Uses of nuclear energy in everyday life are various and widespread. We cannot live without using nuclear energy, especially when it is cheap in modern times. Here are some examples of nuclear energy in daily use:

• Nuclear energy can increase world food resources by improving crops through genetic improvisation and fertiliser.
• Producing electricity sustainably and safely is another important key aspect of nuclear energy.
• It can extend the life of many foods by sterilising the bacteria present in them.
• Nuclear energy can help in pest control through the sterilisation of insects.
• Improves the resources of water through the processes of desalination. 
• The thermoelectric radioisotope generators produce heat and electricity used in spaceships. 
• Nuclear energy is used to create electrical and explosive nuclear weapons.
• Radioactive isotopes in nuclear medicines in many modern therapies and medications.
• Nuclear energy works as a fuel for automobiles and industrial developments.
• Nuclear mining is also useful for archaeological findings.

Negative aspects of nuclear energy

There are some severe negative impacts of the use of nuclear energy in everyday life:

• Spreads harmful radiation
• Harmful to living beings.
• Causes global warming.
• Dangerous nuclear weapons.
• Nuclear explosions.
• Causes severe health issues and generational diseases.
• It is used to modify food genetically, which is lethal for humans and causes cancerous, hormonal, reproductive, and nervous diseases. It also poses the risk of extinction of butterflies and bees.
• Threatens biodiversity as the radiation can be harmful to the earth’s flora and fauna.

Conclusion

In this modern era, nuclear energy has become a way of progress. This progress includes the usage of advanced automobiles, agriculture, and industrial developments. And even the improvement of medical sciences and technology is quite dependent on Nuclear energy.

The uses of nuclear energy in everyday life are countless, and sometimes, people also use it without even knowing. Although nuclear energy offers a great prospect of progress, accidental explosions or nuclear weapons can have a terrible impact on humans, other living beings, and the environment.