Unit 5
Nuclear Power and Other Energy Alternatives

Overview

We are living in what many consider to be the last stages of the “Fossil Fuel Era.” In Unit 4, we examined projections for depletion rates of coal and petroleum that suggest that unless we develop alternative sources of energy, we will be in a crisis early in the next century. The nuclear power industry has often been hailed as the answer to our future energy needs, but escalating market prices for uranium ore and disastrous nuclear accidents have effectively put nuclear power development on hold for now. There are, however, other readily available, renewable energy resources that may feasibly replace or reduce our dependence on fossil fuels. We need only to develop the technology to exploit them economically.

In this unit, we will explore the nuclear power industry and alternative energy sources. Note that nuclear fusion is not listed under Nuclear Power, but as an alternative energy source. As yet, nuclear fusion is an unharnessed energy source. It will involve a different type of nuclear reaction than nuclear fission, and it does not have the same hazards, so for now, we will treat it as “alternative.”

Objectives

After completing this unit, you should be able to

1. describe the chain reaction process that characterizes nuclear fission.
2. describe the basic design and operating principle of a fast breeder reactor.
3. discuss the problems associated with disposal of nuclear waste.
4. describe the deuterium-deuterium fusion reaction, and discuss its advantages over nuclear fission as a source of energy.
5. discuss the methods of energy generation needed for each alternative energy source listed below, and describe the advantages and disadvantages of each.
   
   1. solar
   2. wind
   3. hydro
   4. tidal
   5. geothermal
   6. biomass
   7. hydrogen