The Importance Of Nuclear Energy

World population is growing faster than ever, and as all civilizations, it is needed energy to power their development. Nowadays, we count with powerful sources of energy, fossil-based fuels, which have been highly effective but pollutant since they were discovered. Moreover, alternative energy sources such wind and solar have appeared to complement fossil- based fuels in order to cover our demanding economies’ energy needs and lessen their impact in the environment. However, there is still an even more potent kind of energy that should be thought of by governments and the public as the energy of the future -nuclear energy- because it is safe, cost-effective and efficient, and the only viable solution to fight global warming. Many are …show more content…
In fact, according to the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI), only 1 out of the 437 operating nuclear reactors worldwide has been damaged over the course of the past 25 years, and this damage would not have happened if the plant had used up-to-date technology in place of using ceramic conducts which provoked the overheating and posterior explosion at Fukushima’s reactors in 2011. Moreover, it would be almost impossible that happen an accident like Chernobyl because subsequent technological innovations and improvements have made nuclear plants safer, and also safety standards at Chernobyl plant were extremely careless even for that time. According to P.E. Hodgson, a senior researcher at Oxford University, the negative public perception of safety at nuclear plants is more influence by occasional and spectacular incidents than scientific facts and statistics. Furthermore, there are two safety concerns in the framework of nuclear power: meltdown and terrorism, but both have been disregarded by next-generation fission technologies. Nuclear reactors are today especially protected by a complex system of layers that prevents external and internal explosions from allowing radioactive material to escape into atmosphere. Also, most of the reactors already in operation are molten-salt reactors that run at atmospheric pressure which eliminates the threat of …show more content…
First, fission reaction produces heat easily because of the enormous amount of released energy result of nuclear process. As soon as the nuclear reaction happens, the water in the reactor begins to boil and generate vapor which moves the turbines to produce cheap electricity. In addition, most reactors developed in this century are molten-salt reactors which are significantly efficient since they have a reduced size that allows an easy elimination of waste materials. Also, such reactors lend themselves to factory manufacture, reducing their cost. Furthermore, taking advantage of the endless fission process, nuclear plants are the most reliable source of electricity, operating full time for 18 to 24 months before shutting down for a short time in order to refuel. Now, compared to another alternative sources of energy, nuclear energy is more efficient. For example, in order to increase the contribution of energy coming from renewable energies, large areas of land are necessary to obtain even modest quantities of power. Even with vast tracts of land filled with solar panels and/or wind turbines, the electricity produced is intermittent and must be stored and transported, which is more than expensive. Moreover, according to Bill Gates, if we store all batteries that exist in the world, they could only provide 10 minutes of energy for the world. In addition, leader