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The Nuclear Reactor Theory

            As of today there are 102 light water reactors working with the United States, of these there are two different types. There are boiling water reactors (BWR) and pressurized water reactors (PWR), an example of each may be found right here in south Louisiana. River Bend generating station located outside of Baton Rouge in St. Francisville is a BWR, and Waterford 3 generating station is a PWR located outside of New Orleans in Killona. As an interesting side note, due to the changes in homeland security following the terrorist attacks of 9/11 it is now illegal for these power stations to feature nuclear within their names. So why should the mass populist care about nuclear power generation and why do we even need it? Well, to start with it must be understood that the only other way the United States produces large scale power for the country is buy burning coal or natural gas both of which are fossil fuels. The heat from burning these fuel is then used to boil water to generate steam. The steam is then used to drive turbines which in turn drive generators that produce electricity. We as a country must understand that it will only become vastly expensive to continue to burn massive amounts of fossil fuels for power generation due to not only EPA regulations but to the rising costs of recovering fossils fuels. So how does nuclear power help? To start with a nuclear reaction contains a million times more energy than a rapid oxidation chemical reaction for example it takes a little less than a pound of coal to power a 100 watt light bulb for 24 hours. On the other hand it would only take one millionth of the same amount of Uranium to be fission to power the same 100 watt light bulb for 24 hours with no green house or NOx gases released into are atmosphere as a byproduct of the reaction. Now that we can see a little of the benefits of nuclear power generation let's explore what actually happens inside of the reactor itself.


Essays Related to The Nuclear Reactor Theory

1. Chernobyl

The Chernobyl accident in 1986 was the result of a flawed reactor design that was operated with inadequately trained personnel and without proper regard for safety (World Nuclear Association 1). ... These unfortunate accidents involved nuclear-powered reactors, in power plants or even in nuclear submarines. On April 26, Chernobyl's reactor melted down, causing nuclear waste to be released into the atmosphere (Seaman's Power Journal, Dec. 99). ... Unfortunately the engineering theories behind this accident are typically unknown, if not misunderstood. ... The nuclear reactor used f...

  • Word Count: 944
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  • Grade Level: High School

2. Infinite Energy

One possible type of reactor disaster is known as a meltdown. ... In theory, terrorists might either seize an existing weapon or make their own. ... Nuclear reactors have a major problem with waste disposal. Reactors produce nuclear waste products which emit dangerous radiation. ... Currently, many nuclear wastes are stored in special cooling pools at the nuclear reactors. ...

  • Word Count: 2162
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  • Grade Level: High School

3. History and Developemant of the Atom

The Historical Development of the Atom and it Implications There were four scientists who came up with different theories about the atom and its structures. ... They each had different theories and ideas about the atom. ... Neil Bohr Bohr improved on Rutherford's theory of the atom. ... It is used in fission reactors in nuclear power stations. ... This method is used in fusion reactors in nuclear power stations. ...

  • Word Count: 690
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  • Grade Level: High School

4. Radioactivity and the Nuclei of Atoms

The Concept Half Life In theory, the decay process is never complete and there is always some residual radioactivity. ... Nuclear Energy Nuclear energy or atomic energy is released from the inner core, or nucleus, of the atom. ... - It is the most powerful kind of energy known to man - In nuclear power stations, fission takes place in a nuclear reactor... - The heat is then removed from the core of the reactor by circulating gas or water, and used to produce the steam that drives alternators and turbines to generate electrical power. ... Nuclear Fusion Nuclear fusion Process whereby two...

  • Word Count: 1854
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  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

5. Nuclear Bombs

Albert Einstein formulated his "Theory of Relativity" in 1905, stating if mass could be transformed into energy, the energy liberated would be massive. Einstein's theory would be proved thirty-three years later by Otto Hahn, along with his partner Fritz Strassman ("World Mysteries" 2). ... Nuclear bombs are not the only kind of nuclear weapons; the biggest threat comes from terrorists, and their "dirty bombs". ... Iran and Iraq both posses nuclear material and may be close to developing nuclear warheads ("Declared Nuclear Powers" 1). Nuclear waste from nuclear power is another poss...

  • Word Count: 2245
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  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

6. Thorium Research Paper

A considerable amount of research over the past 30 years has shown us that thorium metal can provide a source of nuclear power. There is a current theory by a number of different scientists that thorium probably has more energy available for use from minerals in the earth's crust than from both uranium and fossil fuels combined. Any sizable demand from thorium as a nuclear fuel is still several years in the future, however research work has been done in the development of thorium cycle converter-reactor systems. Several prototypes, including the high-temperature gas-cooled reactor (HTG...

  • Word Count: 1147
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  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

7. Dangers of nuclear wewapons

Nuclear weapons with these gun-type detonators were the kind of bombs that were dropped on Japan in 1945 by the United States.2 An electrical impulses sent along a reactor line is another way to detonate nuclear weapons. ... Nuclear weapons are very precise. ... Nuclear weapons produce fireballs. ... Perhaps the most frightening consequence of nuclear weapons is the threat of a "nuclear winter"6 after a "large-scale nuclear 3 exchange between nations"7. The nuclear winter theory was conceived by a group of scientists in December of 1983.8 A nuclear winter is when enormous quantities...

  • Word Count: 1038
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  • Grade Level: High School

8. Iran's Pragmatic Confrontation with the West

This could lead, in the eyes of the U.S. leaders, to the domino theory occurring in the Middle East. ... These nominations included: the would-be Foreign Minister, Manouchehr Mottaki, who had continuously been critical of nuclear negotiations with the Europeans and also as Intelligence Minister, Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejehei, a cleric whom reformist journalists regarded as a rigid opponent of press freedom. ... In a way, the stubbornness of the nuclear enrichment program was a sign of defiance against American hegemony for Iran. ...

  • Word Count: 3432
  • Approx Pages: 14
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

9. Chemical, Biological Weapons

Nuclear explosions are caused either "by uncontrolled nuclear fusion or uncontrolled nuclear fission" . ... However, it is possible for non nuclear states to acquire the materials necessary to start a nuclear program. ... Also, around the same time North Korea was found to have violated their NPT agreement, for harvesting weapon-usable rods from a reactor. ... With this section I will briefly identify three competing theories that can be used to make predictions and explain military doctrine and command systems: "organizational theory, realist theory, and strategic culture theory" Fi...

  • Word Count: 2636
  • Approx Pages: 11
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

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