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7.3- Nuclear energy (There are some dangers to nuclear plants, so there…
7.3- Nuclear energy
There are some dangers to nuclear plants, so there are measures to prevent a meltdown
One is using a coolant(usually water) in order to regulate the temperature of the reactor, we want it hot but not create a nuclear meltdown in a city hot
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PROS AND CONS
Less CO2 emissions than fossil fuels and natural gas
no toxic emissions
as long as the plant is properly taken care of it is 100% safe
low net energy due to the cost to make and operate a plant
threat of the enriched uranium being used in nuclear weapons Cough Cough India
Nuclear waste
Nuclear energy comes from a very complex and expensive plant made to do a simple thing: use uranium to boil water into steam that wil generate electricity
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In order to get the uranium you need to mine it, however not all uranium was created equal
Only 1% of uranium-235 is fissionable so it must be enriched to increase that to 3-5%
Made into pellets that contain the energy of tons of coal, then placed in fuel rods
Nuclear Fuel Cycle
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Retire the plant
Decomissioning a plant is a pain, you must wait a lot of years for it to be even safe to dismantle, and even then you must surround it with a thick wall of steel to keep the radiation away, which will have to be mantained. Also the area must be closed off and be guarded so that nobody gets radiation poisoning by playing "lets go visit the abandoned radiactive plant"