Lecture 05 Nuclear Energy

Atomic number

number of protons

atomic weight

number of protons plus neutrons

Isotopes

Elements always have the same number of protons but could very in neutrons, which is why the atomic weight isn’t a whole number

Nuclear energy

Harness energy produced by fission reaction to generate steam and power a generator

powerful, versatile, and reliable

High capacity factor, meaning it operates at maximum capacity most of the time

clean (essentially no carbon emission)

Cons of nuclear energy

Cost (it has become more expensive)

waste

Waste storage: nuclear pastelist tens of thousands of years

Need to considers: environmental impact, proximity to people, national security (by product can be used in nuclear weapons)

Our best solution (so far) is to bury it in a geologic formation far away from life

Defining Risk

Risk is the probability of a hazard causing, accounting for likelihood of occurrence and vulnerability of subject

For nuclear, probability of hazard is extremely low

Risk = probability of hazard X vulnerability