Facts about Uranium and Nuclear Energy
Between 2002 and 2008, for example, cost estimates for new nuclear plant construction rose from between $2 billion and $4 billion per unit to $9 billion per unit, according to a 2009 UCS report.
In a nuclear reactor the uranium fuel is assembled in such a way that a controlled fission chain reaction can be achieved. The heat created by splitting the U-235 atoms is then used to make steam which spins a turbine to drive a generator, producing electricity.
Uranium was apparently formed in supernovas about 6.6 billion years ago. While it is not common in the solar system, today its slow radioactive decay provides the main source of heat inside the Earth, causing convection and continental drift.
Advantages of nuclear power. The generation of electricity through nuclear energy reduces the amount of energy generated from fossil fuels (coal and oil). Less use of fossil fuels means lowering greenhouse gas emissions (CO2 and others). ... The cost of nuclear fuel (overall uranium) is 20% of the cost of energy generated.
Disadvantages. Like fossil fuels, nuclear fuels are non-renewable energy resources. And if there is an accident, large amounts of radioactive material could be released into the environment. In addition, nuclear waste remains radioactive and is hazardous to health for thousands of years.
Today, 104 nuclear plants supply about 20% of the United State’s electricity. The oldest plants have been operating since before 1979. There have been no new sites built since the Three Mile Island disaster (1979).
Globally, there are over 430 commercial nuclear power reactors in 31 countries
A nuclear power plant must shut down every 18-24 months to remove its used uranium fuel, or radioactive waste
Uranium is a source of today’s nuclear fuel. During the Middle Ages, craftspeople used it to color glass yellow or certain shades of green.
United States power plants produce 2,000 metric tons of radioactive waste every year.
Electricity generated by nuclear energy is not as susceptible to fluctuations in coal and gas prices
It can cost over 6 billion dollars to build one new reactor for an existing plant
The United States produces more nuclear energy than any other country
Africa is the first country in the world to destroy all of its nuclear weapons voluntarily. Nuclear energy was first discovered accidentally by French physicist Henri Becquerel in 1896, when he found that photographic plates stored in the dark near uranium were blackened like X-ray plates, which had been just recently discovered at the time
Citations:
http://softschools.com/facts/energy/nuclear_energy_facts/397/
https://www.conserve-energy-future.com/various-nuclear-energy-facts.php
https://www.dosomething.org/facts/11-facts-about-nuclear-energy
http://facts.randomhistory.com/nuclear-energy-facts.html
http://www.world-nuclear.org/information-library/nuclear-fuel-cycle/introduction/what-is-uranium-how-does-it-work.aspx
https://www.ucsusa.org/nuclear-power/cost-nuclear-power
https://nuclear-energy.net/advantages-and-disadvantages-of-nuclear-energy.html
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/science/add_edexcel/radioactive_materials/radioactiveproblemsrev3.shtml
http://softschools.com/facts/energy/nuclear_energy_facts/397/
https://www.conserve-energy-future.com/various-nuclear-energy-facts.php
https://www.dosomething.org/facts/11-facts-about-nuclear-energy
http://facts.randomhistory.com/nuclear-energy-facts.html
http://www.world-nuclear.org/information-library/nuclear-fuel-cycle/introduction/what-is-uranium-how-does-it-work.aspx
https://www.ucsusa.org/nuclear-power/cost-nuclear-power
https://nuclear-energy.net/advantages-and-disadvantages-of-nuclear-energy.html
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/science/add_edexcel/radioactive_materials/radioactiveproblemsrev3.shtml