Nuclear Energy/Nuclear Safety/Nuclear Reactors/Nuclear Warfare/Fusion vs. Fission/Thorium Andrew Wang

Overview Introduction Personal Nuclear Reactor vs. Nuclear Bomb Fusion vs. Fission Nuclear Safety

Introduction Nuclear Power is the use of nuclear reactions to produce heat which is then used to produce electricity It is a sustainable energy resource No carbon emmissions! Important resource - 20% share in US electricity production, 66% share in European electricity production Can be dangerous if not used properly - safety is important Why is nuclear energy important for our world’s future?

Personal - Why do I want to pursue this topic? Besides the fact that nuclear power is the most environmentally benign way of producing electricity on a large scale, Father worked in the Nuclear Department of PSE&G Many of his coworkers had problems with their health due to exposure to nuclear radiation They had many fatal health problems down the line due to immense amounts of exposure

Nuclear Bomb vs. Nuclear Reactor

Nuclear Bomb (fission) An explosive device that derives its power and destructive force from fission or fusion and fission (thermonuclear) Fission: Nuclear reaction process where the nucleus of an atom splits into smaller parts, the fission produces free neutrons and gamma photons So, in nuclear bombs, fissile material (uranium-235/plutonium) is loaded on either sides of the bomb By compressing the fissile material, the material is forced to collide creating large amounts of energy. The nucleus is split into two smaller nuclei along with a few neutrons ← this is the radiation The neutrons hit and break apart the nuclei creating a chain reaction BOOOM!

Nuclear Reactor Basically same properties as Nuclear Bomb except the BOOM part Incredibly expensive Moderator used to control neutrons’ energy Water is used to cool the reactions of the fission processes Thus, it is a controlled nuclear reaction that results in the creation of usable energy

Difference between fusion and fission? Both turn matter into energy using e = mc^2 The equation tells us that matter can turn into energy, and when it does it gets multiplied by the speed of light squared Both fusion and fission convert a little bit of matter into A LOT of energy

Fission Fusion Fission: Atoms come apart Fission is much easier to control because the atoms will split apart naturally Fission creates much nuclear waste Only way we can use energy ….for now Fusion: Atoms come together Much cleaner However, much harder to control It requires slamming hydrogen atoms together so hard that they overcome the repulsive forces pushing them apart As a result they fuse into helium Ex: Center of Sun or Hydrogen Bomb

Safety It’s important

Nuclear Power will always be dangerous Potential sources of problems include human errors and external events that have a greater impact than anticipated: The designers of reactors at Fukushima in Japan did not anticipate that a tsunami generated by an earthquake would disable the backup systems that were supposed to stabilize the reactor after the earthquake.Fukushima Nuclear Reactors are often the target of military destruction Besides uranium mining and nuclear disaster, nuclear waste is incredibly dangerous and causes numerous amounts of health problems including heart issues and cancer However, today our nuclear safety is incredibly good The problem: countries can figure out how to attain nuclear weapons if given nuclear reactors

Nuclear Proliferation The spread of nuclear weapons, fissionable material, and weapons-applicable nuclear technology, and information to nations not recognized as “Nuclear Weapon States” by the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) Through fission reactors, people can figure out how to create nuclear bombs, so in the beginning, there have been efforts to sabotage other countries’ nuclear efforts Dual-use technology (ex: Iran): many technologies and materials associated with the creation of a nuclear power program have a dual-use capability, in that several stages of the nuclear fuel cycle allow diversion of nuclear materials for nuclear weapons.

The possible solution? Thorium Fueled primarily by fission from isotope uranium-233 from element thorium Much greater abundance on earth, reduced nuclear waste production, superior fuel properties It is also incredibly difficult to create a nuclear weapon from thorium due to its properties! "a thorium reactor's plutonium production rate would be less than 2 percent of that of a standard reactor, and the plutonium's isotopic content would make it unsuitable for a nuclear detonation." - Alvin Radkowsky Liquid thorium reactors are basically meltdown-proof The problem? It’s really expensive

"Thorium could provide a clean and effectively limitless source of power while allaying all public concern—weapons proliferation, radioactive pollution, toxic waste, and fuel that is both costly and complicated to process.” - Richard Martin, writer of Superfuel: Thorium, the Green Energy Source for the Future