How to Understand Nuclear Energy

The nuclear power industry got a one-two punch in the late 1970's and mid-1980's: first, the movie "The China Syndrome" convinced millions of Americans that nuclear plants were ticking time bombs, and second, the meltdown of the Chernobyl plant in the Ukraine proved to be the deadliest nuclear disaster in history. However, in the relatively quiet two decades since, many folks have had a chance to reappraise their views of nuclear power. Here's a quick guide to how nuclear energy does (and doesn't) work.

Instructions

1. A nuclear plant harnesses "controlled fission." The bomb dropped on Hiroshima in 1945 was a "fission" device-it released energy via the uncontrolled splitting of trillions upon trillions of uranium atoms. Nuclear power works on the same principle, except the "rods" of uranium involved are maintained in a sub-critical state and kept cool by various mechanisms (primarily by being submerged in water).

2. In an essential way, a nuclear plant is just like a coal or oil plant. No matter the fuel they burn, all power plants produce electricity in pretty much the same way: by using the resulting heat to boil water into steam, which in turn is used to power turbines. Therefore, the electricity provided by a nuclear plant isn't somehow "hotter" than that produced by an ordinary coal plant.

3. A nuclear plant can't explode like a bomb. If a nuclear plant's multiple safeguards fail simultaneously, the worst thing that can happen (and admittedly, it's pretty bad) is that the uranium rods will superheat, melt into the ground, and release an uncontrollable amount of radioactive gas. However, it's not true that a runaway nuclear plant will explode like an H-bomb and wipe out an entire metropolitan area.

4. Nuclear waste can be a big problem. For many people, the big issue with nuclear power plants isn't the increasingly unlikely risk of a major accident; it's how to dispose of spent fuel rods and other radioactive waste products. The trouble is that highly radioactive materials have a way of contaminating the environment if they're not disposed of safely, and government and industry have yet to figure out a foolproof way to do this.

5. Nuclear power isn't necessarily worse (or better) than oil power. Every source of energy (except perhaps wind and solar power) has its own risks and rewards. Oil power is risky for two reasons: first, oil is a nonrenewable resource, meaning that once it's gone, it's gone for good-and second, burning oil releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, which accelerates global warming. Nuclear power doesn't have these specific drawbacks, but it does entail the risks detailed above.