Nuclear Power and the Energy Crisis (Essay‪)‬

The previous article in this series drew attention to the energy crisis that faces the world today. Energy is essential to maintain and increase our standards of living. The demand for it is also increasing due to the world's rising population. At the same time the available sources of energy are proving inadequate to satisfy the demand: oil production will soon peak and then start to fall; coal and the other fossil fuels are serious polluters; hydroelectric power is limited by geography, and wind, solar, and the other renewable sources are unable to deliver energy in the huge quantities required. This combination of rising demand and falling supply is the basis of the energy crisis. If that were all that could be said, there would be no possibility of resolving the crisis. There is, however, another source--the nucleus of the atom. In 1939 it was found that when the nuclei of certain heavy elements such as uranium are irradiated by neutrons they became unstable and split into two pieces, a process known as fission. The fission fragments fly apart with great energy and also emit more neutrons. These neutrons can enter nearby uranium nuclei and cause them to fission, resulting in a chain reaction and a large release of energy. This energy release can be controlled and used to drive a turbine to generate electricity. (1)