At the end of World War II, two nuclear bombs were dropped on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The new weapon proved to be the deadliest in human history. The ensuing nuclear race between the USSR and the United States further exacerbated the fears of the world community about the nuclear factor. However, in addition to atomic warheads, a peaceful atom appeared. By this phrase is meant nuclear power.
The principle of operation of nuclear power plants
The operation of any nuclear power plant is based on the fission reaction of an atom. In order to cause it, it is necessary to carry out a neutron bombardment of uranium-235 nuclei. The smallest particles are divided into fragments, while generating a tremendous amount of gamma rays and thermal energy.
A peaceful atom can remain peaceful only under tight control, mandatory for nuclear power plants. The fact is that during fission, neutrons arise that give rise to new chain reactions. Uncontrolled coverage of the nuclei leads to an explosion. It is this principle that underlies the operation of atomic bombs. At power plants, the process is controlled, and excess energy is directed into a channel useful to people.
Uranium-235
Nuclear fuel is placed in special rods before use. It is stored in the form of tablets made from uranium oxide. It should be understood that this substance is heterogeneous. 3% of such tablets consists of uranium-235 (it is it that is divided during the reaction), the rest is uranium-238 (this isotope is not divided).
Why is this ratio necessary? To keep the process under control. A working reactor starts the fission reaction. In the course of its development, the amount of uranium-235 decreases. At the same time, the volume of fission products is increasing. This is nuclear waste. They pose a serious environmental hazard and must therefore be disposed of correctly. Can an atom be peaceful? As can be seen from the described technology, only with strict observance of the instructions and rules of the production process.
Background
Nuclear (atomic) energy originated in the middle of the 20th century. Since then, hundreds of nuclear power plants have been built in the world (442 are operating today). Peaceful atom provides more than half of the energy needed by France, Poland, Lithuania, Slovakia, Sweden and South Korea. In Western Europe, nuclear power plants generate about a third of electricity.
It all began in 1939, when fission of uranium nuclei was discovered in Germany . German studies were extremely interested in the USSR. It immediately became clear to scientists that the newly discovered process allows the production of gigantic volumes of energy. If specialists could learn to control complex reactions, this would solve many economic problems. The first Soviet studies related to the peaceful atom took place at the RIAN (Radium Institute of the Academy of Sciences) under the guidance of the outstanding physicist Igor Kurchatov.
Nuclear race
The work of Soviet scientists was hindered by the lack of the USSR’s own uranium reserves. In addition, the Great Patriotic War began in 1941, and we had to forget about the revolutionary discoveries for a while. Against this background, the agenda was intercepted in the UK, USA and Germany. The paradox is that nuclear power emerged as an offshoot of the militaristic project. Of course, the warring countries primarily tried to get the most powerful weapons, and only then thought about peaceful ways to use their discoveries.
The first experimental nuclear reactor was launched in the United States in December 1942. The project manager was the Italian scientist Enrico Fermi. In the USSR, the first reactor appeared at the end of 1946 at the Institute of Atomic Energy. By this time, the American bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki had already taken place . In the USSR, an atomic bomb was created in 1949, and a hydrogen bomb in 1953. The war had already ended, and scientists began to prepare a nuclear reactor to work on the national economy of the Soviet Union.
NPP construction
The first nuclear power plant in the world was launched in the summer of 1954. It turned out to be the Obninsk NPP, located in the Kaluga region. With a slight delay, the United States also began to implement a nuclear energy project. In 1956, for the first time, the Americans succeeded in generating electricity using a reactor. Gradually, in all two superpowers, new nuclear power plants were founded. Each of them broke another power record.
The peak of nuclear power development occurred in the second half of the 1960s. Then the number of NPP construction sites began to decrease. In the United States, a discussion has begun in Congress and in the scientific community about issues related to the safety of peaceful atom. Nevertheless, by 1986, electricity generation at nuclear power plants reached 15% of the volume produced by conventional power plants.
Symbol of nuclear power
In 1958, the Atomium opened in Brussels, where the next World Exhibition was held. The architect Andre Andre Waterkeyner worked on the design concept. Atomium looks like an enlarged crystal lattice of iron: nine atoms, interconnected. The weight of the structure is 2400 tons, and the height is 102 meters. Visitors can enter six of the nine areas. These atomic models, magnified hundreds of billions of times, are connected to each other by twenty 23-meter pipes. Inside them are corridors and escalators.
The photo of the “peaceful atom”, which appeared in Brussels in the midst of the atomic era, quickly flew around the world, and the Atomium became a symbol of all nuclear energy and the idea that revolutionary scientific discoveries should be used for the benefit of mankind, and not for wars and destruction. The Belgian landmark is mentioned in the novel of the famous Soviet science fiction brothers Strugatsky "Monday begins on Saturday." The symbol of the peaceful atom appears on many drawings, as well as on emblems dedicated to nuclear energy.
Environmental factor
The problem of environmental contamination with radioactive waste is becoming more urgent every year. For example, in modern Russia, the personnel of 10 nuclear power plants is engaged in a peaceful atom. All these enterprises need special attention of environmentalists and government departments.
In the European Union, 50 thousand cubic meters of radioactive waste are accumulated every year. The key problem is that such garbage remains dangerous for thousands of years (for example, the decay period of plutonium-239 is 24 thousand years).
Recycling
Today, there are several concepts on how to best dispose of radioactive waste. The first idea is to create burial grounds located at the bottom of the oceans. This is a rather complicated way. Containers should be located at a considerable depth, in addition, they can be damaged by the sea current.
The second idea is considered in NASA, where they propose to send nuclear waste into outer space. This method is safe for the Earth, but fraught with excessive spending. There are other ideas: to transport waste to uninhabited islands or to bury them in the ice of Antarctica. The most acceptable option today is the construction of burial grounds in rocky underground rocks. Research related to this idea continues to be conducted in Germany and Switzerland.
Chernobyl lesson
For a long time, nuclear power was considered uncontested. For several decades, the peaceful atom in the USSR and other countries continued its economic expansion. However, in 1986, a tragedy occurred in Chernobyl that forced humanity to rethink its attitude towards nuclear power plants. An explosion occurred at a station near Pripyat, which resulted in the destruction of the reactor and the release into the environment of a significant amount of radioactive substances hazardous to health.
The famous Soviet slogan "Peaceful atom in every home" was compromised. In the first months after the accident, 30 people died. However, the true effects of exposure were felt later. Over the next years, dozens more people died in agony from a terrible ailment. Thousands of Soviet citizens were in the zone of infection. Significant territories of Belarus, Ukraine and Russia became unsuitable for agriculture. The Chernobyl accident led to an outbreak of public phobia in relation to nuclear energy. After that tragedy, many stations around the world were closed.
Although security measures at such enterprises have noticeably improved over 30 years, in theory, a tragedy similar to Chernobyl could be repeated again. Accidents happened before and after the Chernobyl nuclear power plant: in 1957 in the UK (Windscale), in 1979 in the USA (Three Mile Island), and in 2011 in Japan (Fukushima). Today, the IAEA has collected information on more than 1000 emergency situations at the stations. The causes of accidents: the human factor (80% of cases), less often - design flaws. In Fukushima, Japan, an emergency occurred due to a powerful earthquake and the ensuing tsunami.
Nuclear power outlook
The question of whether a peaceful atom has a future is economically complex and causes a lot of controversy among specialists. Due to the large number of conflicting factors, its future is unclear and foggy. The latest forecasts issued by the International Energy Agency suggest that, while current trends continue, the share of electricity produced at nuclear power plants will drop from 15% to 9% by 2030.
Until recently, nuclear energy was in demand, including due to high oil prices. However, in 2014 they fell sharply. Thus, another cheaper alternative to nuclear power plants appeared. It is also important that a peaceful atom provides people only with electricity (that is, even with widespread use it cannot completely save society from energy dependence).
Oil or electricity?
Oil, in spite of everything, is important for industry and transport. About 40% of the energy that the US consumes is provided by this resource. Japan and France could not get rid of oil dependence (although they actively use nuclear power plants). So is there a future for a peaceful atom, or is it doomed to remain in the shadow of "black gold"? These trends indicate that nuclear power plants may be in the past. However, some recent events have given nuclear power a new chance.
It is about the appearance of cars that work not on gas, but on electricity. Today, such vehicles are increasingly conquering the markets of the United States and Europe. In a few decades, electric cars will become the norm. It is at this moment that a peaceful atom can once again come to the rescue of the world economy. A nuclear power plant is able to solve the problem of the ever-increasing demand for electricity in various countries.
Thermonuclear energy
There is another prospect in which a peaceful atom can make an economic triumph. One of the most important problems associated with the operation of nuclear power plants is environmental safety. The question of the complexity of the disposal of radiation waste and spent fuel gave rise to the idea of reformatting nuclear reactors into new nuclear thermonuclear ones. Such enterprises will be completely safe for the environment. But before this peaceful atom technology is introduced into production, specialists will have to go a long way.
Today, teams from 33 countries are already working on a thermonuclear project. The global nature of thermonuclear fuel ventures is determined by many of its advantages. It is not only safe from an environmental point of view, but also inexhaustible. A resource necessary for scientists is deuterium, which is obtained from the oceans. The main technological difference between a thermonuclear station and nuclear power plants is that nuclear fusion will take place at new enterprises (nuclear fission is carried out at former nuclear power plants). Perhaps it is in this technology that the future of the peaceful atom lies.