 
|
Earth 2
Thursday, April 22, 1999
Announcements:
Lecture notes:
NUCLEAR ISSUES...
Radioactivity
Radioactivity is the spontaneous change/decay of the
nucleus of an atom to another atom
- Ex. Radium 225 --> Radon 222 + Helium 4
Radioisotopes are different elements that have
different isotopes
Parent elements are the elements that are radioactively
decayed
Daughter elements are the product that are
radioactively decayed
- In exponential decay, each component has
a characteristical half-life, which is the time it takes
for a parent to become a daughter
Ways to Generate Energy
1. Fission-split nuclei by bombarding it with nuetrons
2. Fusion-the process of combining two or more nuclei
- If the atomic number of an element is less than
that of iron, it will go through fusion
- If the atomic number of an element is greater
than that of iron, it will go
through fission
Idea of Splitting Atoms
Why is Nuclear Power such a Failure?
- The United State's last plan for building a nuclear power
plant was in 1974
1. N.I.M.B.Y. (Not In My Backyard)
- None of us want to live near a nuclear reactor
2. DANGER
- Remember the Three Mile Island and Chernobyl disasters
3. LITIGATION
- Many possible lawsuits can come from nuclear power plants
- **In France, nuclear power is very common and even safe.
All reactors are same--in the U.S. all are
different...always trying to outdo each other.
Nuclear Waste
- Nuclear Waste by-products are extremely dangerous
- U.S. passed an act saying that 1998 there had to be a
repository to accept 70,000 tons, good until 2030, $20
billion to figure out if sight is safe
- Not subject to any natural disasters
- Containers that won't rupture even under lots of stress
- Climatically safe--the area won't be underwater in
100,000 years
- One nuclear reactor at the end of 20,000 years needs ten
times the flow of Hudson River to dilute radioactivity
Another regulation that must be met by the repository is that
it must be safe for 25,000 years from CLIMATE VARIATION
- The initial plan was just to keep it safe from the rhythm
of ice ages
Three Sites Chosen To Do Testing
1. Hanford, Washington
2. Yucca Mountain, Nevada
3. Texas Panhandle (Salt Diapir...drilling petroleum...around
for millions of years)
*The Yucca Mountain site was picked b/c it was already owned
by the federal government, therefore there would be less
litigation to worry about
Nuclear War
- In a direct nuclear conflict, many will be believed to
survive, however, we are unsure of the secondary effects
- Assuming that 5,000 MTons of nuclear material are
exchanged, 1/2 million ton of dust/soot goes into the
atmosphere per MTon. This dust/soot circulates through
the Northern Hemisphere and eventually gets to the
Southern Hemisphere, cooling the surface temperature down
to -25 degrees Celsius.
- One result of the nuclear war would be NO CROPS...meaning
no capability to feed organisms
- The worst time for a nuclear was is decidedly summer
Why Nuclear Energy?
1. Alternative Energy...CO2 is part of everything, however
nuclear energy produces no CO2 by-products
2. Nuclear Energy generates many issues that we must discuss
3. Nuclear Energy doesn't just create long-term changes, it
creates short-term, long-lasting effects
|
