CHEM 101 LECTURE CHAPTER 1: NUCLEAR ENERGY

CHEM 101 LECTURE CHAPTER 1: NUCLEAR WAR ENERGY

By: Rohit Patel

     Before we start, I need to ask you a favor. When you hear the word, “Nuclear” what is the first thing that pops up into your mind? This was the question I asked my class when I was giving a presentation in my Freshman year of college on the role of Nuclear Energy with Climate Change. The responses started rolling in…”War”, ”Hiroshima and Nagasaki”, “Atomic Bomb”, “Radiation”, “Chernobyl”, and more. All of these dark-themed words started to pop up. The word energy only came up once out of a class of 30 students. I replicated this with other people and the results were the same. There was an overwhelming negative connotation with the word: Nuclear. I just want to thank all the history teachers out there. Great job in convincing almost everyone that the word: Nuclear, can only be associated with bad things. 

     Climate change has been hurting the Earth. Wildfire rates have been rising, water levels have been rising, causing people who live in coastal towns to relocate, and storms have been getting way stronger. A big part of exacerbating the negative effects of climate change is fossil fuels. With the high prevalence of cars in society and the burning of fossil fuels, climate change is getting worse day by day. Certain people have been speaking up regarding the effects of climate change such as Greta Thunberg. One way to step in the right direction of addressing climate change is using nuclear energy. It is a clean energy source and is very efficient to make. However, not many people know of this. The school system in the United States teaches students that the word, Nuclear, usually has a negative connotation 95% of the time. Nuclear energy needs to be added to the K12 curriculum so that students learn about the positives of nuclear energy as well as the negatives so that they can learn ways the field of nuclear energy evolved to become safer. 

     Let me ask you this. Do you know how Fossil Fuels and Nuclear Energy make electricity? If you don’t know, then you should probably learn more about them before you pick a side. Let’s start with fossil fuels, considering how common they are. Fossil Fuels such as natural gas, coal, or oil are burned in the presence of oxygen. Do you know what this produces? Nitrogen oxides which lead to acid rain or smog. But let’s continue. When these fossil fuels are burned, they generate heat. This heat is then used to make steam. This steam will then spin turbines and generate electricity. So what does Fossil Fuels do? They make energy by hurting the environment. How do you feel driving your gas-powered car now? It’s not all doom and gloom. Let me tell you about our savior: nuclear energy.

     The way that nuclear energy is harvested is that it starts with the splitting of a uranium atom in a controlled and contained environment. When a uranium atom splits, a large quantity of heat is generated. This heat is used to produce steam. This steam will then be used to spin turbines, and when these turbines spin, electricity can be generated using the turbine generator. So here, you make electricity. “What’s the catch?” you ask? THERE IS NONE! Just electricity! Nothing dangerous is released into the environment. Just clean energy. 

     Oh, another thing that I forgot to mention. According to springpowerandgas.us, “Nuclear fission is nearly 8,000 times more efficient at producing energy than traditional fossil fuels. That’s a considerable amount of energy density. Because nuclear energy is more efficient, it requires less fuel to power the plant and therefore creates less waste as well”. You hear this and think, “ Wait, you are telling me that Nuclear energy is way more efficient in producing energy, doesn’t pollute the air, and generates less waste too.” You are exactly right. It is baffling how nuclear energy isn’t that popular. There are some reasons why nuclear energy isn’t that popular.

     One of the first reasons is that nuclear energy is expensive. These plants have high costs to build but also have high costs to maintain. They generate nuclear waste, which needs to be stored somewhere. All of these processes make nuclear energy expensive. Springpowerandgas.us says that the cost for building these nuclear plants has been rising from 2002-2008. The cost rose from around $2 to 4 billion to $9 billion. According to ESFC Investment Group, building a fossil fuel plant could cost $1-4.5 billion dollars. It does make sense that since fossil fuels are cheaper that more people gravitate towards them, however with all the environmental damage that it causes, is it truly cheaper?

     Another reason to go against nuclear energy is bringing up events such as Chernobyl, where “Two Chernobyl plant workers died due to the explosion on the night of the accident, and a further 28 people died within a few weeks as a result of acute radiation syndrome” according to the World Nuclear Association. Yes, this was bad. However, what you fail to mention is what caused the incident. The reason that the accident occurred was that the initial reactor design was flawed, and then on top of that, the people running the facility were inadequately trained. Ever since, regulations have increased astronomically to the point where if one bolt is not tight enough, it gets corrected. Very strict control and proper training protocols are in place. 

     People also get scared by nuclear waste. Nuclear waste is a byproduct of generating electricity from a nuclear power plant. It can be dangerous and could hurt the environment if the waste gets exposed to the environment. The current way to manage nuclear waste is to store it deep underground where it wouldn’t have environmental effects. However, as technology improves, there will be better ways to improve this. 

     Despite all of this, nuclear energy should have more prevalence. Students should learn more about nuclear energy in school. The only time I learned about nuclear energy in school was when I did a project on it. It is not integrated in the K12 curriculum, and many college students won’t even learn about it unless they major in something geared toward the energy sector. Because of this, people are influenced by influencers on large platforms who are potentially spreading misinformation. Adding nuclear energy to school content at the K12 level will generate the most impact. The good and the bad can be discussed so that students fully understand the topic. They should learn about how a nuclear power plant generates power, but also learn about the mishaps of Chernobyl and learn how future issues were prevented. As the environment is hurting from the production of fossil fuels, students must learn how to address the negative impacts to the environment and learn about the answer to these problems: Nuclear Energy. 

Works Cited

“Chernobyl Accident 1986.” Chernobyl | Chernobyl Accident | Chernobyl Disaster - World Nuclear Association, World Nuclear Association, world-nuclear.org/information-library/safety-and-security/safety-of-plants/chernobyl-accident.aspx. Accessed 31 Oct. 2023. 

“Coal-Fired Power Plant Construction Costs.” ESFC Investment Group, esfccompany.com/en/articles/thermal-energy/coal-fired-power-plant-construction-costs/. Accessed 31 Oct. 2023. 

Jackson, Adam. “The Pros & Cons of Nuclear Energy.” Spring Power & Gas, 23 May 2023, springpowerandgas.us/the-pros-cons-of-nuclear-energy-is-it-safe/#:~:text=Nuclear%20fission%20is%20nearly%208%2C000,creates%20less%20waste%20as%20well. 

“Nuclear Energy - How Energy Works.” Duke Energy, www.duke-energy.com/energy-education/how-energy-works/nuclear-power#:~:text=Nuclear%20Power,-Nuclear%20Energy&text=Nuclear%20energy%20originates%20from%20the,not%20produce%20greenhouse%20gas%20emissions. Accessed 31 Oct. 2023. 

“Where Does Our Electricity Come From?” Where Does Our Electricity Come from? - World Nuclear Association, World Nuclear Association, world-nuclear.org/nuclear-essentials/where-does-our-electricity-come-from.aspx. Accessed 31 Oct. 2023.