Research work in physics "Nuclear energy: pluses and minuses". Nuclear (Nuclear) energy

The widespread use of nuclear energy began thanks to scientific and technological progress, not only in the military field, but also for peaceful purposes. Today it is impossible to do without it in industry, energy and medicine.

However, the use of nuclear energy has not only advantages, but also disadvantages. First of all, it is the danger of radiation, both for humans and for the environment.

The use of nuclear energy is developing in two directions: the use in energy and the use of radioactive isotopes.

Initially, atomic energy was supposed to be used only for military purposes, and all developments went in this direction.

The use of nuclear energy in the military sphere

A large number of highly active materials are used to produce nuclear weapons. Experts estimate that nuclear warheads contain several tons of plutonium.

Nuclear weapons are referred to because they cause destruction over vast territories.

According to the range and power of the charge, nuclear weapons are divided into:

• Tactical.
• Operational-tactical.
• Strategic.

Nuclear weapons are divided into atomic and hydrogen. Nuclear weapons are based on uncontrolled chain reactions of fission of heavy nuclei and reactions. For a chain reaction, uranium or plutonium is used.

The storage of such a large amount of hazardous materials is a great threat to humanity. And the use of nuclear energy for military purposes can lead to dire consequences.

For the first time, nuclear weapons were used in 1945 to attack the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The consequences of this attack were catastrophic. As you know, this was the first and last use of nuclear energy in war.

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)

The IAEA was established in 1957 with the aim of developing cooperation between countries in the field of the use of atomic energy for peaceful purposes. From the very beginning, the agency has been implementing the program "Nuclear Safety and Environmental Protection".

But the most important function is control over the activities of countries in the nuclear sphere. The organization controls that the development and use of nuclear energy occurs only for peaceful purposes.

The purpose of this program is to ensure the safe use of nuclear energy, the protection of man and the environment from the effects of radiation. The agency also studied the consequences of the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant.

The agency also supports the study, development and use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes and acts as an intermediary in the exchange of services and materials between members of the agency.

Together with the UN, the IAEA defines and establishes safety and health standards.

Nuclear power

In the second half of the forties of the twentieth century, Soviet scientists began to develop the first projects for the peaceful use of the atom. The main direction of these developments was the electric power industry.

And in 1954, a station was built in the USSR. After that, programs for the rapid growth of nuclear energy began to be developed in the USA, Great Britain, Germany and France. But most of them were not fulfilled. As it turned out, the nuclear power plant could not compete with stations that run on coal, gas and fuel oil.

But after the onset of the global energy crisis and the rise in oil prices, the demand for nuclear power increased. In the 70s of the last century, experts believed that the capacity of all nuclear power plants could replace half of the power plants.

In the mid-80s, the growth of nuclear energy slowed down again, the countries began to revise plans for the construction of new nuclear power plants. This was facilitated by both the energy conservation policy and the decline in oil prices, as well as the disaster at the Chernobyl plant, which had negative consequences not only for Ukraine.

After that, some countries stopped the construction and operation of nuclear power plants altogether.

Nuclear power for space travel

More than three dozen nuclear reactors flew into space, they were used to generate energy.

The Americans used a nuclear reactor in space for the first time in 1965. Uranium-235 was used as fuel. He worked for 43 days.

In the Soviet Union, the Romashka reactor was launched at the Institute of Atomic Energy. It was supposed to be used on spacecraft along with But after all the tests, it was never launched into space.

The next Buk nuclear installation was used on a radar reconnaissance satellite. The first apparatus was launched in 1970 from the Baikonur cosmodrome.

Today, Roskosmos and Rosatom are proposing to design a spacecraft that will be equipped with a nuclear rocket engine and will be able to reach the Moon and Mars. But for now, it's all at the proposal stage.

Application of nuclear energy in industry

Nuclear energy is being used to increase the sensitivity of chemical analysis and to produce ammonia, hydrogen and other chemicals that are used to make fertilizers.

Nuclear energy, the use of which in the chemical industry makes it possible to obtain new chemical elements, helps to recreate the processes that occur in the earth's crust.

Nuclear energy is also used to desalinate salt water. Application in ferrous metallurgy allows to recover iron from iron ore. In color - it is used for the production of aluminum.

Use of nuclear energy in agriculture

The use of nuclear energy in agriculture solves the problems of selection and helps in pest control.

Nuclear energy is used to create mutations in seeds. This is done to obtain new varieties that bring more yield and are resistant to crop diseases. So, more than half of the wheat grown in Italy for making pasta was bred using mutations.

Radioisotopes are also used to determine the best ways to apply fertilizers. For example, with their help, it was determined that when growing rice, it is possible to reduce the application of nitrogen fertilizers. This not only saved money, but also saved the environment.

A slightly strange use of nuclear energy is to irradiate insect larvae. This is done in order to display them harmlessly to the environment. In this case, the insects that emerged from the irradiated larvae do not have offspring, but in other respects are quite normal.

nuclear medicine

Medicine uses radioactive isotopes to make an accurate diagnosis. Medical isotopes have a short half-life and do not pose a particular danger to both others and the patient.

Another application of nuclear energy in medicine was discovered quite recently. This is positron emission tomography. It can help detect cancer at an early stage.

Application of nuclear energy in transport

In the early 50s of the last century, attempts were made to create a nuclear-powered tank. Development began in the US, but the project was never brought to life. Mainly due to the fact that in these tanks they could not solve the problem of shielding the crew.

The well-known Ford company was working on a car that would run on nuclear energy. But the production of such a machine did not go beyond the layout.

The thing is that the nuclear installation took up a lot of space, and the car turned out to be very overall. Compact reactors never appeared, so the ambitious project was curtailed.

Probably the most famous transport that runs on nuclear energy is various ships, both military and civilian:

• Transport ships.
• Aircraft carriers.
• Submarines.
• Cruisers.
• Nuclear submarines.

Pros and cons of using nuclear energy

Today, the share in world energy production is approximately 17 percent. Although humanity uses but its reserves are not endless.

Therefore, as an alternative, it is used. But the process of obtaining and using it is associated with a great risk to life and the environment.

Of course, nuclear reactors are constantly being improved, all possible safety measures are being taken, but sometimes this is not enough. An example is the accidents at Chernobyl and Fukushima.

On the one hand, a properly operating reactor does not emit any radiation into the environment, while a large amount of harmful substances enter the atmosphere from thermal power plants.

The biggest danger is spent fuel, its processing and storage. Because to date, a completely safe way to dispose of nuclear waste has not been invented.

Pros and cons of nuclear power plants "Let the atom be a worker, not a soldier." Pros and cons
nuclear power plants
“Let the atom be working, and
not a soldier."

NPP device

Nuclear power plant (NPP) - a nuclear installation for the production of energy

Pros and cons of nuclear power plants

Advantages of a nuclear power plant

Wagon for the transport of nuclear fuel

10. A huge advantage of a nuclear power plant is its relative environmental cleanliness.

11. There are no such emissions at nuclear power plants.

12.

13. The most powerful nuclear power plants in the world

14.

15.

16. Cons of nuclear power plants

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18. The volume of radioactive waste is very small, it is very compact, and it can be stored under conditions that ensure it does not leak to the outside.

19. Bilibino NPP is the only nuclear power plant in the permafrost zone.

20.

21. A peaceful atom must live

The use of nuclear energy in the modern world is so important that if we woke up tomorrow and the energy of a nuclear reaction disappeared, the world as we know it would probably cease to exist. Peace is the basis of industrial production and life in such countries as France and Japan, Germany and Great Britain, the USA and Russia. And if the last two countries are still able to replace nuclear energy sources with thermal stations, then for France or Japan this is simply impossible.

The use of nuclear energy creates many problems. Basically, all these problems are related to the fact that using the binding energy of the atomic nucleus (which we call nuclear energy) for one's own benefit, a person receives significant evil in the form of highly radioactive waste that cannot simply be thrown away. Waste from nuclear energy sources needs to be processed, transported, buried, and stored for a long time in safe conditions.

Pros and cons, benefits and harms from the use of nuclear energy

Consider the pros and cons of the use of atomic-nuclear energy, their benefits, harm and significance in the life of Mankind. It is obvious that only industrialized countries need nuclear energy today. That is, peaceful nuclear energy finds its main application mainly at such facilities as factories, processing plants, etc. It is energy-intensive industries remote from sources of cheap electricity (like hydroelectric power plants) that use nuclear power plants to ensure and develop their internal processes.

Agrarian regions and cities do not really need nuclear energy. It is quite possible to replace it with thermal and other stations. It turns out that the mastery, acquisition, development, production and use of nuclear energy is for the most part aimed at satisfying our needs for industrial products. Let's see what kind of industries these are: the automotive industry, military industries, metallurgy, the chemical industry, the oil and gas complex, etc.

Does a modern person want to drive a new car? Want to dress in trendy synthetics, eat synthetics, and pack everything in synthetics? Want bright products in different shapes and sizes? Wants all new phones, TVs, computers? Do you want to buy a lot, often change equipment around you? Want to eat tasty chemical food from colored packs? Do you want to live in peace? Do you want to hear sweet speeches from the TV screen? Do you want to have a lot of tanks, as well as missiles and cruisers, as well as shells and cannons?

And he gets it all. It does not matter that in the end the discrepancy between word and deed leads to war. It does not matter that energy is also needed for its disposal. So far, the person is calm. He eats, drinks, goes to work, sells and buys.

And all this requires energy. And this requires a lot of oil, gas, metal, etc. And all these industrial processes require atomic energy. Therefore, no matter what anyone says, until the first industrial thermonuclear fusion reactor is put into series, nuclear energy will only develop.

In the advantages of nuclear energy, we can safely write down everything that we are used to. On the downside, the sad prospect of imminent death in the collapse of resource depletion, nuclear waste problems, population growth and degradation of arable land. In other words, atomic energy allowed man to begin to master nature even more strongly, forcing it beyond measure so much that in several decades he overcame the threshold for the reproduction of basic resources, starting between 2000 and 2010 the process of consumption collapse. This process objectively no longer depends on the person.

Everyone will have to eat less, live less and enjoy the natural environment less. Here lies another plus or minus of atomic energy, which lies in the fact that countries that have mastered the atom will be able to more effectively redistribute the depleted resources of those who have not mastered the atom. Moreover, only the development of the thermonuclear fusion program will allow mankind to simply survive. Now let's explain on the fingers what kind of "beast" it is - atomic (nuclear) energy and what it is eaten with.

Mass, matter and atomic (nuclear) energy

One often hears the statement that “mass and energy are the same”, or such judgments that the expression E = mc2 explains the explosion of an atomic (nuclear) bomb. Now that you have a first understanding of nuclear energy and its applications, it would be truly unwise to confuse you with statements such as "mass equals energy." In any case, this way of interpreting the great discovery is not the best. Apparently, this is just the wit of the young reformists, the "Galileans of the new time." In fact, the prediction of the theory, which has been verified by many experiments, says only that energy has mass.

Now we will explain the modern point of view and give a short overview of the history of its development.
When the energy of any material body increases, its mass increases, and we attribute this additional mass to the increase in energy. For example, when radiation is absorbed, the absorber becomes hotter and its mass increases. However, the increase is so small that it remains outside the measurement accuracy in conventional experiments. On the contrary, if a substance emits radiation, then it loses a drop of its mass, which is carried away by radiation. A broader question arises: is not the entire mass of matter conditioned by energy, i.e., is there not an enormous store of energy contained in all matter? Many years ago, radioactive transformations answered this positively. When a radioactive atom decays, a huge amount of energy is released (mostly in the form of kinetic energy), and a small part of the mass of the atom disappears. The measurements are clear about this. Thus, energy carries away mass with it, thereby reducing the mass of matter.

Consequently, a part of the mass of matter is interchangeable with the mass of radiation, kinetic energy, etc. That is why we say: "energy and matter are partially capable of mutual transformations." Moreover, we can now create particles of matter that have mass and are able to completely transform into radiation, which also has mass. The energy of this radiation can go into other forms, transferring its mass to them. Conversely, radiation can be converted into particles of matter. So instead of "energy has mass" we can say "particles of matter and radiation are interconvertible, and therefore capable of mutual transformations with other forms of energy." This is the creation and destruction of matter. Such destructive events cannot occur in the realm of ordinary physics, chemistry, and technology, but must be sought either in the microscopic but active processes studied by nuclear physics, or in the high-temperature furnace of atomic bombs, in the sun and stars. However, it would be unreasonable to say that "energy is mass". We say: "energy, like matter, has mass."

Mass of ordinary matter

We say that the mass of ordinary matter contains a huge amount of internal energy equal to the product of the mass and (the speed of light)2. But this energy is contained in the mass and cannot be released without the disappearance of at least part of it. How did such an amazing idea come about and why was it not discovered earlier? It was proposed earlier - experiment and theory in different forms - but until the twentieth century, the change in energy was not observed, because in ordinary experiments it corresponds to an incredibly small change in mass. However, now we are sure that a flying bullet, due to its kinetic energy, has an additional mass. Even at 5,000 m/sec, a bullet that weighed exactly 1g at rest would have a total mass of 1.00000000001g. White-hot platinum weighing 1kg would add a total of 0.000000000004kg and practically no weighing would be able to register these changes. Only when huge amounts of energy are released from the atomic nucleus, or when atomic "projectiles" are accelerated to speeds close to the speed of light, does a mass of energy become noticeable.

On the other hand, even a barely perceptible difference in mass marks the possibility of releasing a huge amount of energy. Thus, hydrogen and helium atoms have relative masses of 1.008 and 4.004. If four hydrogen nuclei could combine into one helium nucleus, then the mass of 4.032 would change to 4.004. The difference is small, only 0.028, or 0.7%. But it would mean a gigantic release of energy (mainly in the form of radiation). 4.032 kg of hydrogen would give 0.028 kg of radiation, which would have an energy of about 600000000000 Cal.

Compare this to the 140,000 cal released when the same amount of hydrogen is combined with oxygen in a chemical explosion.
Ordinary kinetic energy makes a significant contribution to the mass of very fast protons produced by cyclotrons, and this creates difficulties when working with such machines.

Why do we still believe that E=mc2

Now we perceive this as a direct consequence of the theory of relativity, but the first suspicions arose already towards the end of the 19th century, in connection with the properties of radiation. Then it seemed likely that radiation had mass. And since the radiation carries, as on wings, at a speed of energy, more precisely, it is energy itself, then an example of a mass belonging to something “immaterial” has appeared. The experimental laws of electromagnetism predicted that electromagnetic waves must have "mass". But before the creation of the theory of relativity, only unbridled fantasy could extend the ratio m=E/c2 to other forms of energy.

All kinds of electromagnetic radiation (radio waves, infrared, visible and ultraviolet light, etc.) have some common features: they all propagate in a vacuum at the same speed and they all carry energy and momentum. We imagine light and other radiation in the form of waves propagating at a high but definite speed c=3*108 m/sec. When light strikes an absorbing surface, heat is generated, indicating that the light flux carries energy. This energy must propagate along with the flow at the same speed of light. In fact, the speed of light is measured exactly in this way: by the time of flight of a large distance by a portion of light energy.

When light strikes the surface of some metals, it knocks out electrons, which fly out just as if they were hit by a compact ball. , apparently, is distributed in concentrated portions, which we call "quanta". This is the quantum nature of the radiation, despite the fact that these portions, apparently, are created by waves. Each portion of light with the same wavelength has the same energy, a certain "quantum" of energy. Such portions rush at the speed of light (in fact, they are light), transferring energy and momentum (momentum). All this makes it possible to attribute a certain mass to the radiation - a certain mass is attributed to each portion.

When light is reflected from a mirror, no heat is released, because the reflected beam carries away all the energy, but a pressure acts on the mirror, similar to the pressure of elastic balls or molecules. If, instead of a mirror, the light hits a black absorbing surface, the pressure becomes half as much. This indicates that the beam carries the momentum rotated by the mirror. Therefore, light behaves as if it had mass. But is there any other way to know that something has mass? Does mass exist in its own right, such as length, green, or water? Or is it an artificial concept defined by behaviors like Modesty? Mass, in fact, is known to us in three manifestations:

• A. A vague statement that characterizes the amount of "substance" (Mass from this point of view is inherent in substance - an entity that we can see, touch, push).
• B. Certain statements linking it to other physical quantities.
• B. Mass is conserved.

It remains to define mass in terms of momentum and energy. Then any moving thing with momentum and energy must have "mass". Its mass should be (momentum)/(velocity).

Theory of relativity

The desire to link together a series of experimental paradoxes concerning absolute space and time gave rise to the theory of relativity. The two kinds of experiments with light gave conflicting results, and experiments with electricity further exacerbated this conflict. Then Einstein proposed to change the simple geometric rules of vector addition. This change is the essence of his "special theory of relativity".

For low speeds (from the slowest snail to the fastest of rockets), the new theory is consistent with the old one.
At high speeds, comparable to the speed of light, our measurement of lengths or time is modified by the movement of the body relative to the observer, in particular, the mass of the body becomes greater, the faster it moves.

Then the theory of relativity proclaimed that this increase in mass was of a completely general nature. At normal speeds, there are no changes, and only at a speed of 100,000,000 km / h does the mass increase by 1%. However, for electrons and protons emitted from radioactive atoms or modern accelerators, it reaches 10, 100, 1000%…. Experiments with such high-energy particles provide excellent evidence for the relationship between mass and velocity.

At the other end is radiation that has no rest mass. It is not a substance and cannot be kept still; it just has mass, and it's moving at speed c, so its energy is mc2. We speak of quanta as photons when we want to note the behavior of light as a stream of particles. Each photon has a certain mass m, a certain energy E=mс2 and a certain amount of motion (momentum).

Nuclear transformations

In some experiments with nuclei, the masses of atoms after violent explosions do not add up to give the same total mass. The liberated energy takes away with it some part of the mass; the missing piece of atomic material seems to have disappeared. However, if we assign a mass E/c2 to the measured energy, we find that the mass is conserved.

Matter annihilation

We are accustomed to think of mass as an inevitable property of matter, so the transition of mass from matter to radiation - from a lamp to a flying beam of light looks almost like the destruction of matter. One more step - and we will be surprised to discover what is actually happening: positive and negative electrons, particles of matter, when combined together, completely turn into radiation. The mass of their matter turns into an equal mass of radiation. This is a case of the disappearance of matter in the most literal sense. As if in focus, in a flash of light.

Measurements show that (energy, radiation during annihilation) / c2 is equal to the total mass of both electrons - positive and negative. An antiproton, when combined with a proton, annihilates, usually with the release of lighter particles with high kinetic energy.

Creation of matter

Now that we have learned how to manage high-energy radiation (super-short-wave X-rays), we can prepare particles of matter from radiation. If a target is bombarded with such beams, they sometimes produce a pair of particles, for example, positive and negative electrons. And if we again use the formula m=E/c2 for both radiation and kinetic energy, then the mass will be conserved.

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Pros and cons of nuclear energy. Over 40 years of nuclear power development in the world, about 400 power units have been built in 26 countries of the world with a total power capacity of about 300 million kW. The main advantages of nuclear energy are high final profitability and the absence of emissions of combustion products into the atmosphere from this point of view, it can be considered as environmentally friendly, the main disadvantages are the potential danger of radioactive contamination of the environment by nuclear fuel fission products during an accident such as Chernobyl or at the American Trimile Island station and the problem processing of used nuclear fuel.

Let's look at the benefits first. The profitability of nuclear energy is made up of several components.

One of them is independence from fuel transportation. If a power plant with a capacity of 1 million kW requires about 2 million tons of fuel equivalent per year. or about 5 mln. The use of nuclear fuel for energy production does not require oxygen and is not accompanied by a constant release of combustion products, which, accordingly, will not require the construction of facilities to clean up emissions into the atmosphere.

Cities located near nuclear power plants are basically environmentally friendly green cities in all countries of the world, and if this is not the case, then this is due to the influence of other industries and facilities located on the same territory. In this regard, TPPs paint a completely different picture. An analysis of the environmental situation in Russia shows that thermal power plants account for more than 25 of all harmful emissions into the atmosphere.

About 60 emissions from thermal power plants occur in the European part and the Urals, where the environmental load significantly exceeds the limit. The most difficult ecological situation has developed in the Ural, Central and Volga regions, where the loads created by the fallout of sulfur and nitrogen in some places exceed the critical ones by 2-2.5 times. The disadvantages of nuclear power include the potential danger of radioactive contamination of the environment during severe accidents such as Chernobyl.

At present, at nuclear power plants using reactors of the Chernobyl RBMK type, additional safety measures have been taken, which, according to the IAEA of the International Atomic Energy Agency, completely exclude an accident of this severity, as the design life is exhausted, such reactors should be replaced by new generation increased safety reactors. Nevertheless, a change in public opinion in relation to the safe use of atomic energy will apparently not happen soon.

The problem of disposal of radioactive waste is very acute for the entire world community. Now there are already methods of vitrification, bituminization and cementing of radioactive waste from nuclear power plants, but territories are required for the construction of burial grounds, where these wastes will be placed for eternal storage. Countries with a small territory and high population density are experiencing serious difficulties in solving this problem. 2

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I think that in the territory of the countries of the former Soviet Union, when it comes to nuclear power plants, a lot of people immediately have a glimpse of the Chernobyl tragedy in their heads. This is not so easy to forget and I would like to understand the principle of operation of these stations, as well as find out their pros and cons.

The principle of operation of a nuclear power plant

A nuclear power plant is a kind of nuclear installation, in front of which the goal is to produce energy, and subsequently electricity. In general, the forties of the last century can be considered the beginning of the era of nuclear power plants. In the USSR, various projects were developed regarding the use of atomic energy not for military purposes, but for peaceful ones. One such peaceful purpose was the production of electricity. In the late 1940s, the first work began to bring this idea to life. Such stations operate on a water reactor, from which energy is released and transferred to various coolants. In the process of all this, steam is released, which is cooled in the condenser. And then through the generators, the current goes to the houses of city residents.

All the pros and cons of nuclear power plants

I'll start with the most basic and bold plus - there is no dependence on a large use of fuel. In addition, the cost of transporting nuclear fuel will be extremely small, unlike conventional fuel. I want to note that this is very important for Russia, given that the same coal is delivered from Siberia, and this is extremely expensive.

Now, from an environmental point of view: the amount of emissions into the atmosphere per year is approximately 13,000 tons, and, no matter how large this figure may seem, compared to other enterprises, the figure is quite small. Other pros and cons:

• a lot of water is used, which worsens the environment;
• electricity generation is practically the same in cost as at thermal power plants;
• a big drawback is the terrible consequences of accidents (there are enough examples).

I also want to note that, after the nuclear power plant stops its work, it must be liquidated, and this can cost almost a quarter of the construction price. Despite all the shortcomings, nuclear power plants are quite common in the world.