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How viable is Nuclear Energy?
One of the laws of the universe is the first law of thermodynamics which states that energy can"t be created nor destroyed but can be changed in form such as the change of matter into energy explained by the mathematical formula E=mc^2 generated by the best scientist know to man Albert Einstein. Nuclear energy is an example of such a conversion of matter to energy; namely energy trapped inside the uranium energy source atom. Nuclear Energy is the energy produced from controlled nuclear reactions; a nuclear fission or a nuclear fusion chain reaction. In nuclear fission, the nuclei of atoms are split, causing energy to be released, while in nuclear fusion, the nuclei of atoms are fused under tremendously hot conditions, usually requiring a nuclear fission to generate such high temperature.

For years mankind has been trying to harness the sun and other stars’ inexhaustible energy generation mechanism and finally succeeded in 1930s. In 1938, when two German scientists split the nucleus of the atom apart by bombarding it with a neutron through a fission reaction, and soon after; a Hungarian scientist discovered the chain reaction and its ability to produce enormous amounts of energy known today as nuclear energy. The sun and stars are unarguably far away from living entities so the sun and stars can afford to use fission and fusion mechanisms however mankind didn’t take too much consideration into the danger involved in the mechanism on a life sustaining planet.

The nuclear industry has alleged that nuclear energy is a reliable source of energy in the long term however how long of a long term are we talking about? Uranium is a ubiquitous resource, so common it can easily be compared to the likes of copper, aluminum, iron and zinc in terms of quantity. Several analysts have mentioned the insurmountable resource of uranium from: Primary resources, Secondary resources, unconventional resources; then moving on to phosphates, Seawater, Uraniferous coal ash and to minute uranium resources such as Oil shales that contain uranium as a byproduct. However, it is the quality, not the quantity of the resource that matters at the end of the day. Estimating the available reserves of uranium is a little difficult as various agencies interpret the availability of uranium resources using different methodologies. Generally uranium reserves are classified according to the cost of recovery as a dollar value which is ultimately an imprecise measure given that it does not reflect the net value of the energy produced from uranium nor the energy used in its mining and processing and in the generation of power. Below a certain concentration the recovery of uranium will take more energy than it produces. The most productive uranium ores contain 1,000 to 20,000 parts per million of uranium (ppmU). Other potential sources, such as igneous rocks, have concentrations of uranium of around 4ppmU. Sea water, also quoted as a future source of uranium, has an average uranium content of 0.003ppmU. In the 1970s Peter Chapman calculated the cut-off value, at which the energy used to extract uranium from the ore exceeds the energy produced from the nuclear plant, at around 20ppmU. Even with advances in processing and reactor design this is unlikely to fall far below 10ppmU. This puts a limitation on the theoretical size of the uranium resource because a number of the potential sources fall below this level.

Then further on down to the high risk of Nuclear power (primarily Health effects of Radiation through reactor Incidence), technical issues related to the choice of reactor and the operation of the fuel cycle which affects the longevity of the uranium resource; overall, there are many uncertainties about how the nuclear industry might develop in the future. I’m convinced that nuclear energy cannot be a reliable solution to the massive energy disposition the world is currently facing. The seemingly easiest way out of a problem usually takes the situation in a 360 degrees rotation only to end up in exactly the same place and even worse in this case; nuclear energy only proves to be a benefactor of several further problems. I’ll love to know your points of view on this issue.


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