TECHNICAL

ENGLISH III NUCLEAR POWER

Rosa Andrea Cmez Cate 2014-03834

Jos Fernando Prez Prez 201404272

Jose Luis Fuentes Quiroa 2014-04291

[ESCRIBA EL TTULO DE LA BARRA LATERAL]

Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala

Facultad de ingeniera

2 INDEX INTRODUCTION 3

OBJETIVES 4

NUCLEAR POWER 5

ADVANTAGES 7

DISADVANTAGES 7

POWER PLANTS 8

CONCLUTIONS 9

REFERENCE GUIDE 9

3 INTRODUCTION

Nuclear power is the energy that we can get from the atoms using tree

different processes. In this investigation we are going to present and try to

explain you in a simple way how we can get nuclear energy and also the

process to convert into electricity. Another important think that we are going

to mention for the purpose of this research is the advantages, disadvantages

and the plants of nuclear power that are actually working.

4 OBJECTIVES

GENERAL OBJETIVE

Define what is nuclear energy and expose how is used currently.

SPECIFIC OBJECTIVE

To undestand the history of how the nuclear power born.

To determine the advantages of the nuclear energy.

5 NUCLEAR POWER HISTORY

The pursuit of nuclear energy for electricity generation began soon after the

discovery in the early 20th century that radioactive elements, such as radium,

released immense amounts of energy, according to the principle of mass

energy equivalence. However, means of harnessing such energy was

impractical, because intensely radioactive elements were, by their very

nature, short-lived.

In 1932, James Chadwick discovered the neutron, which was immediately

recognized as a potential tool for nuclear experimentation because of its lack

of an electric charge. Experimentation with bombardment of materials with

neutrons led Frdric and Irne Joliot-Curie to discover induced radioactivity

in 1934, which allowed the creation of radium-like elements at much less the

price of natural radium.

But in 1938, German chemists Otto Hahn and Fritz Strassmann, along with

Austrian physicist Lise Meitner and Meitner's nephew, Otto Robert Frisch,

conducted experiments with the products of neutron-bombarded uranium,

as a means of further investigating Fermi's claims. They determined that the

relatively tiny neutron split the nucleus of the massive uranium atoms into two

roughly equal pieces, contradicting Fermi. This was an extremely surprising

result: all other forms of nuclear decay involved only small changes to the

mass of the nucleus, whereas this process involved a complete rupture of the

nucleus.

Installed nuclear capacity initially rose relatively quickly, rising from less than 1

gigawatt (GW) in 1960 to 100 GW in the late 1970s, and 300 GW in the late

6 1980s. Since the late 1980s worldwide capacity has risen much more slowly, reaching 366 GW in 2005. Between around 1970 and 1990, more than 50 GW of capacity was under construction in 2005, around 25 GW of new capacity

was planned.

WHAT IS NUCLEAR POWER?

Nuclear energy is energy in the nucleus (core) of an atom. Atoms are tiny

particles that make up every object in the universe. There is enormous energy

in the bonds that hold atoms together. Nuclear energy can be used to make

electricity. But first the energy must be released. It can be released from

atoms in two ways: nuclear fusion and nuclear fission. In nuclear fusion,

energy is released when atoms are combined or fused together to form a

larger atom. This is how the sun produces energy. In nuclear fission, atoms are

split apart to form smaller atoms, releasing energy. Nuclear power plants use

nuclear fission to produce electricity.

7 ADVANTAGES: Clear power with no atmospheric emissions Currently, fossil fuels are consumed faster than they are

produced, so in the next future these resources may be

reduced or the price may increase becoming inaccessible for

most of the population.

The generation of electricity through nuclear energy reduces

the amount of energy generated from fossil fuels (coal and

oil). Less use of fossil fuels means lowering greenhouse gas

emissions (CO2 and others).

Fuel can be recycled

The production of electric energy is continuous. A nuclear

power plant is generating electricity for almost 90% of annual

time. It reduces the price volatil ity of other fuels such as petrol.

Low cost power for todays consumption

Viable form of energy in countries that do not have access to other

forms of fuel

Nuclear power stations do not contribute to carbon emissions - no

CO2 is given out - it therefore does not contribute to global warming.

DISADVANTAGES

One of the main disadvantages is the difficulty in the management of

nuclear waste. It takes many years to eliminate its radioactivity and

risks.

The constructed nuclear reactors have an expiration date. Then,

they've to be dismantled, so that main countries producing nuclear

energy could maintain a regular number of operating reactors. They've

to build about 80 new nuclear reactors during the next ten years.

8 Nuclear power plants generate external dependence. Not many countries have uranium mines and not all the countries have nuclear technology, so they have to hire both things

overseas.

Disposal of nuclear waste is very expensive. As it is radioactive it has to

be disposed of in such a way as it will not pollute the environment.

Decommissioning of nuclear power stations is expensive and takes a

long time.

For most locations, wind power density is low

Wind velocity must be greater than 7 mph to be usable in most areas

Problem exists in variation of power density and duration (not reliable)

POWER PLANTS

Just as many conventional thermal power stations generate electricity by

harnessing the thermal energy released from burning fossil fuels, nuclear

power plants convert the energy released from the nucleus of an atom via

nuclear fission that takes place in a nuclear reactor. The heat is removed from

the reactor core by a cooling system that uses the heat to generate steam,

which drives a steam turbine connected to a generator producing electricity.

9 CONCLUTIONS 1. The nuclear energy is the energy that we can get from the nucleus of an

atom, using nuclear fusion and fision as the processes to get it.

2. For the best use of this resource it had a lot of experiment through

many years

3. The primary advantage is that can be renewable, it reduces the use of

fuel because currently the use of fossil fuels consume faster than

they produce and it does not need atmospheric emissions.

REFERENCE GUIDE

1. Nuclear Power: Advantages and Disadvantages (2015). Retrieved

March 2, 2015, from:

http://www.cyberphysics.co.uk/topics/nuclear/advantages_disadvant

ages_nuclear_power.htm

2. Nuclear Energy. (2014, January 1). Retrieved March 2, 2015, from

http://www.nnr.co.za/what-is-nuclear-energy

3. Nuclear Power. March 2, 2015 from:

http://homepages.spa.umn.edu/~larry/ADVANTAGE_DIS_ENERGY.pdf