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Conventional nuclear power: Difference between revisions
→Risk of meltdowns
(Created page with "thumb|Nuclear power plant Currently, all of the world's nuclear power plants{{x|any exceptions are ''experimental'' and not scaleable yet}} run on '''conventional nuclear power'''{{x|for lack of a better term}} which is nuclear fission that depends heavily on uranium-235. {{considerations}} __NOTOC__ ==Scarcity of uranium-235== {{basically|Major problem}} File:Shinarump Mine Waste Rock.jpg|thumb|Uranium occurs naturally...") |
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[[File:Nuclear Power Plant Cattenom.jpg|thumb|Nuclear power plant]] | [[File:Nuclear Power Plant Cattenom.jpg|thumb|Nuclear power plant]] | ||
Currently, all of the world's nuclear power plants{{x|any exceptions are ''experimental'' and not scaleable yet}} run on '''conventional nuclear power''' | [[Category:Energy sources]] | ||
Currently, all of the world's nuclear power plants{{x|any exceptions are ''experimental'' and not scaleable yet}} run on '''conventional nuclear power''': [[nuclear fission]] that depends heavily on uranium-235. | |||
{{considerations}} __NOTOC__ | {{considerations}} __NOTOC__ | ||
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[[File:Shinarump Mine Waste Rock.jpg|thumb|Uranium occurs naturally as a mix of two isotopes: uranium-235 (0.7%) and uranium-238 (99.3%).]] | [[File:Shinarump Mine Waste Rock.jpg|thumb|Uranium occurs naturally as a mix of two isotopes: uranium-235 (0.7%) and uranium-238 (99.3%).]] | ||
{{dp | {{dp | ||
|<nowiki>uranium.reserves</nowiki> | |<nowiki>uranium.reserves</nowiki> | ||
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- Page 47 - Simplified energy balance table - World energy balance, 2018</nowiki> | - Page 47 - Simplified energy balance table - World energy balance, 2018</nowiki> | ||
}} | }} | ||
{{calc | |||
| | This is the main reason why nuclear power only provides a '''small fraction''' of the world's [[energy]].<!-- TODO: add pie chart --> Uranium-235 is a scarce mineral - far more scarce than [[fossil fuels]]. | ||
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| | If all the world's energy were to come from nuclear, we'd '''run out''' of uranium-235 in about '''4 years.''' | ||
| | {{p2|(see maths)|{{calc|uranium.reserves * nuclear_power_plant.efficiency|years energy.tfc|||}} }} | ||
|We'd run out even faster [[energy demand scenarios|if all nations were developed]]. | {{p2|(more)|~ We'd run out even faster [[energy demand scenarios|if all nations were developed]].<br /><br />~ In either case, conventional nuclear power can't really meet global energy demands. Best case, it might be sufficient for [[baseload]] electricity only (which is a smaller part of total [[energy demand]]).}} | ||
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'''Possible solutions:''' | '''Possible solutions:''' | ||
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{{basically|Long-term problem}} | {{basically|Long-term problem}} | ||
Since the reactors only make use of the uranium-235 component, the remaining matter becomes "spent fuel" and must be disposed of. This nuclear waste is still radioactive enough to cause harm to anyone exposed to it without protective equipment. It remains this way for millions of years. | |||
<!-- TODO: | <!-- TODO: | ||
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* talk about how could the waste be marked with warning symbols if societies far into the future don't use the same symbols as us | * talk about how could the waste be marked with warning symbols if societies far into the future don't use the same symbols as us | ||
--> | --> | ||
'''Possible solutions:''' | '''Possible solutions:''' | ||
* [[Breeder reactors]], which | * [[Breeder reactors]], which could keep obtaining energy from the spent fuel (mostly uranium-238) until there's barely any radioactive waste left at all. | ||
==Risk of meltdowns== | ==Risk of meltdowns== | ||
{{basically|Generally manageable}} | {{basically|Generally manageable}} | ||
{{ | Meltdowns have happened twice in history: [[Chernobyl]] and [[Fukushima]]. Nuclear plants have since been designed to not repeat the mistakes of the past. {{en}} Then again, some people say there are still unknown risks. <sup>[debate needed, perhaps]</sup> | ||
<!-- TODO: {{qn}}: put in perspective the number of lives lost and the amount of land lost, relative to the amount of energy generated (throughout all of history). Compare to fossil fuels etc. --> | |||
==Weapons proliferation== | ==Weapons proliferation== | ||
{{basically|Under control}} | {{basically|Under control}} | ||
Reactors are well designed to prevent people from stealing uranium to make thermonuclear bombs. Governments of course still have nuclear warheads, which is still a [[nuclear war|major issue in itself]]. | |||