Nuclear energy. About nuclear energy Message on the topic of nuclear energy

By the level of scientific and technical developments Russian nuclear power is one of the best in the world. Enterprises have huge opportunities to solve everyday or large-scale tasks. Experts predict a promising future in this area, as the Russian Federation has large reserves of ores for energy generation.

A Brief History of the Development of Nuclear Energy in Russia

The nuclear industry dates back to the times of the USSR, when it was planned to implement one of the author's projects on the creation of explosives from uranium. In the summer, in 1945, an atomic weapon was successfully tested in the United States, and in 1949, the RDS-1 nuclear bomb was used for the first time at the Semipalatinsk test site. Further development of nuclear energy in Russia was as follows:

Research and production teams have been working for many years to achieve a high level in atomic weapons, and they are not going to stop there. Later, you will learn about the prospects in this area until 2035.

Operating nuclear power plants in Russia: a brief description

There are currently 10 operating nuclear power plants. The features of each of them will be discussed below.

No. 1 and No. 2 with the AMB reactor;
No. 3 with the BN-600 reactor.

Generates up to 10% of the total electrical energy. Currently, many systems in Sverdlovsk are in long-term mothballing, and only the BN-600 power unit is in operation. Beloyarsk NPP is located in Zarechny.

Bilibino NPP is the only source that supplies heat to the city of Bilbino and has a capacity of 48 MW. The station generates about 80% of energy and meets all the requirements for the installation of equipment:

maximum ease of use;
increased reliability of work;
protection against mechanical damage;
the minimum amount of installation work.

The system has an important advantage: if the unit is interrupted unexpectedly, it is not harmed. The station is located in the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, 4.5 km away, the distance to Anadyr is 610 km.

What is the state of nuclear energy today?

Today there are more than 200 enterprises whose specialists work tirelessly on excellence nuclear power industry of Russia. Therefore, we are confidently moving forward in this direction: we are developing new models of reactors and gradually expanding production. According to the participants of the World Nuclear Association, Russia's strength is the development of technologies based on fast neurons.

Russian technologies, many of which were developed by Rosatom, are highly valued abroad for their relatively low cost and safety. Consequently, we have a fairly high potential in the nuclear industry.

The Russian Federation provides foreign partners with many services related to the activity in question. These include:

construction of nuclear power units, taking into account safety rules;
supply of nuclear fuel;
output of used objects;
training of international personnel;
assistance in the development of scientific work and nuclear medicine.

Russia is building a large number of power units abroad. There were successful projects such as "Bushehr" or "Kudankulam", created for the Iranian and Indian nuclear power plants. They allowed the creation of clean, safe and efficient sources of energy.

What problems related to the nuclear industry have arisen in Russia?

In 2011, a collapse of metal structures (weight about 1200 tons) occurred at the LNPP-2 under construction. During the supervisory commission, the supply of non-certified fittings was discovered, in connection with which the following measures were taken:

imposition of a fine on CJSC GMZ-Khimmash in the amount of 30 thousand rubles;
performing calculations and carrying out work aimed at reinforcing reinforcement.

According to Rostekhnadzor, the main reason for the violation is the insufficient level of qualification of GMZ-Khimmash specialists. Poor knowledge of the requirements of federal regulations, manufacturing technologies for such equipment and design documentation has led to the fact that many such organizations have lost their licenses.

At the Kalinin NPP, the level of thermal power of the reactors has increased. Such an event is extremely undesirable, since there is a possibility of an accident with serious radiation consequences.

Long-term studies conducted in foreign countries have shown that the proximity to nuclear power plants leads to an increase in leukemia. For this reason, in Russia there were many refusals from effective, but very dangerous projects.

Prospects for NPPs in Russia

Forecasts of the further use of atomic energy are contradictory and ambiguous. Most of them agree that by the middle of the 21st century, the need will increase due to the inevitable increase in the population.

The Ministry of Energy of the Russian Federation announced the energy strategy of Russia for the period up to 2035 (information was received in 2014). The strategic goal of nuclear energy includes:

Taking into account the established strategy, it is planned to solve the following tasks in the future:

improve the scheme of production, circulation and disposal of fuel and raw materials;
develop targeted programs that ensure the renewal, sustainability and efficiency of the existing fuel base;
implement the most effective projects with a high level of safety and reliability;
increase the export of nuclear technology.

State support for the mass production of nuclear power units is the basis for the successful promotion of goods abroad and Russia's high reputation in the international market.

What hinders the development of nuclear energy in Russia?

The development of nuclear energy in the Russian Federation faces certain difficulties. Here are the main ones:

In Russia, nuclear power is one of the important sectors of the economy. The successful implementation of the projects under development can help develop other industries, but this requires a lot of effort.

The dependence of the binding energy per nucleon on the number of nucleons in the nucleus is shown in the graph.

The energy required to split a nucleus into individual nucleons is called the binding energy. The binding energy per nucleon is not the same for different chemical elements and even for isotopes of the same chemical element. The specific binding energy of a nucleon in a nucleus ranges, on average, from 1 MeV for light nuclei (deuterium) to 8.6 MeV for nuclei of medium weight (A≈100). For heavy nuclei (A≈200), the specific binding energy of a nucleon is less than for nuclei of average weight by approximately 1 MeV, so that their transformation into nuclei of average weight (fission into 2 parts) is accompanied by the release of energy in an amount of about 1 MeV per nucleon, or about 200 MeV per nucleus. The transformation of light nuclei into heavier nuclei gives an even greater energy gain per nucleon. So, for example, the reaction of the combination of deuterium and tritium

1 D²+ 1 T³→ 2 He 4 + 0 n 1

accompanied by an energy release of 17.6 MeV, i.e. 3.5 MeV per nucleon.

Release of nuclear energy

Exothermic nuclear reactions are known to release nuclear energy.

Usually, a chain nuclear fission reaction of uranium-235 or plutonium nuclei is used to produce nuclear energy. Nuclei are divided when a neutron hits them, and new neutrons and fission fragments are obtained. Fission neutrons and fission fragments have high kinetic energy. As a result of collisions of fragments with other atoms, this kinetic energy is quickly converted into heat.

Another way to release nuclear energy is through thermonuclear fusion. In this case, two nuclei of light elements are combined into one heavy one. Such processes take place on the Sun.

Many atomic nuclei are unstable. Over time, some of these nuclei spontaneously transform into other nuclei, releasing energy. This phenomenon is called radioactive decay.

Applications of nuclear energy

Fusion energy is used in the hydrogen bomb.

Notes

Literature

Clarfield, Gerald H. and William M. Wiecek (1984). Nuclear America: Military and Civilian Nuclear Power in the United States 1940-1980, Harper & Row.
Cooke, Stephanie (2009). In Mortal Hands: A Cautionary History of the Nuclear Age Black Inc.
Cravens Gwyneth Power to Save the World: the Truth about Nuclear Energy. - New York: Knopf, 2007. - ISBN 0-307-26656-7
Elliott, David (2007). Nuclear or Not? Does Nuclear Power Have a Place in a Sustainable Energy Future?, Palgrave.
Falk, Jim (1982). Global Fission: The Battle Over Nuclear Power, Oxford University Press.
Ferguson, Charles D., (2007). Nuclear Energy: Balancing Benefits and Risks Council on Foreign Relations.
Herbst, Alan M. and George W. Hopley (2007). Nuclear Energy Now: Why the Time has come for the World's Most Misunderstood Energy Source, Wiley.
Schneider, Mycle, Steve Thomas, Antony Froggatt, Doug Koplow (August 2009). The World Nuclear Industry Status Report, German Federal Ministry of Environment, Nature Conservation and Reactor Safety.
Walker, J. Samuel (1992). Containing the Atom: Nuclear Regulation in a Changing Environment, 1993-1971
Walker, J. Samuel (2004). Three Mile Island: A Nuclear Crisis in Historical Perspective, Berkeley: University of California Press.
Weart, Spencer R. The Rise of Nuclear Fear. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2012. ISBN 0-674-05233-1

Nuclear technologies
Engineering
materials
Nuclear power
nuclear medicine
Nuclear weapon

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010 .

Kossman, Bernhard
Zimmermann, Albert Carl Heinrich

See what "Nuclear Energy" is in other dictionaries:

NUCLEAR POWER- (atomic energy) the internal energy of atomic nuclei released during nuclear transformations (nuclear reactions). the binding energy of the nucleus. mass defect Nucleons (protons and neutrons) in the nucleus are firmly held by nuclear forces. To remove a nucleon from a nucleus, ... ... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary

NUCLEAR POWER- (atomic energy), ext. energy at. nuclei released during nuclear transformations. The energy that must be spent to split the nucleus into its constituent nucleons, called. binding energy of the nucleus? St. This is max. energy, heaven can stand out. ... ... Physical Encyclopedia

NUCLEAR POWER- NUCLEAR ENERGY, ENERGY released during a nuclear reaction as a result of the conversion of MASS into energy as described in the equation: E=mc2 (where E is energy, m is mass, c is the speed of light); it was derived by A. EINSTEIN in his THEORY OF RELATIVITY. ... ... Scientific and technical encyclopedic dictionary

NUCLEAR POWER- (atomic energy) see () () ... Great Polytechnic Encyclopedia

NUCLEAR POWER- (atomic energy), the internal energy of atomic nuclei released during certain nuclear reactions. The use of nuclear energy is based on the implementation of chain reactions of fission of heavy nuclei and thermonuclear fusion reactions of light nuclei (see ... ... Modern Encyclopedia

Those. in those industrialized countries where there is not enough natural energy resources. These countries generate between a quarter and a half of their electricity from nuclear power plants. The US generates only an eighth of its electricity from nuclear power plants, but that's about one-fifth of the world's.

Nuclear power remains the subject of heated debate. Supporters and opponents of nuclear energy differ sharply in their assessments of its safety, reliability, and economic efficiency. In addition, there is widespread concern that nuclear fuel may leak from electricity generation and be used to produce nuclear weapons.

Nuclear fuel cycle.

Nuclear power is a complex industry involving many industrial processes that together form the fuel cycle. There are different types of fuel cycles, depending on the type of reactor and how the final stage of the cycle proceeds.

Typically, the fuel cycle consists of the following processes. Mines produce uranium ore. The ore is crushed to separate the uranium dioxide, and the radioactive waste is dumped. The resulting uranium oxide (yellow cake) is converted into uranium hexafluoride, a gaseous compound. To increase the concentration of uranium-235, uranium hexafluoride is enriched at isotope separation plants. The enriched uranium is then converted back into solid uranium dioxide, from which fuel pellets are made. Fuel elements (fuel elements) are assembled from pellets, which are combined into assemblies for introduction into the core of a nuclear reactor of a nuclear power plant. The spent fuel extracted from the reactor has a high level of radiation and, after cooling on the territory of the power plant, is sent to a special storage facility. It also provides for the disposal of waste with low levels of radiation accumulated during the operation and maintenance of the station. At the end of the service life, the reactor itself must be decommissioned (with decontamination and disposal of the reactor units). Each stage of the fuel cycle is regulated in such a way as to ensure the safety of people and the protection of the environment.

Nuclear reactors.

Industrial nuclear reactors were originally developed only in countries with nuclear weapons. The USA, USSR, Great Britain and France actively explored various variants of nuclear reactors. However, subsequently three main types of reactors began to dominate the nuclear power industry, differing mainly in fuel, coolant used to maintain the desired temperature of the core, and moderator used to reduce the speed of neutrons released during the decay process and necessary to maintain a chain reaction.

Among them, the first (and most common) type is the enriched uranium reactor, in which both the coolant and the moderator are ordinary or "light" water (light water reactor). There are two main types of light water reactor: a reactor in which the steam that drives the turbines is generated directly in the core (boiling water reactor), and a reactor in which steam is generated in an external, or second, circuit connected to the primary circuit by heat exchangers and steam generators (water -water power reactor - VVER). The development of a light water reactor began as early as the programs of the US military. Thus, in the 1950s, the General Electric and Westinghouse companies developed light water reactors for submarines and aircraft carriers of the US Navy. These firms were also involved in the implementation of military programs for the development of technologies for the regeneration and enrichment of nuclear fuel. In the same decade, the graphite-moderated boiling water reactor was developed in the Soviet Union.

The second type of reactor that has found practical application is a gas-cooled reactor (with a graphite moderator). Its creation was also closely associated with early nuclear weapons development programs. In the late 1940s and early 1950s, Great Britain and France, in an effort to build their own atomic bombs, focused on the development of gas-cooled reactors that produce weapons-grade plutonium quite efficiently and can also run on natural uranium.

A third type of reactor that has been commercially successful is the one in which both the coolant and the moderator are heavy water, and the fuel is also natural uranium. At the beginning of the nuclear age, the potential benefits of a heavy water reactor were explored in a number of countries. However, then the production of such reactors was concentrated mainly in Canada, in part because of its vast reserves of uranium.

Development of the nuclear industry.

After World War II, tens of billions of dollars were invested in the electric power industry around the world. This building boom was fueled by rapid growth in demand for electricity, at a rate far outpacing population and national income growth. The main focus was on thermal power plants (TPPs) running on coal and, to a lesser extent, on oil and gas, as well as on hydroelectric power plants. There was no industrial-type nuclear power plant until 1969. By 1973, virtually all industrialized countries had exhausted the resources of large-scale hydropower. The surge in energy prices after 1973, the rapid growth in demand for electricity, and the growing concern about the possibility of losing the independence of the national energy industry have all contributed to establishing the view of nuclear energy as the only viable alternative source of energy for the foreseeable future. The Arab oil embargo of 1973-1974 gave rise to an additional wave of orders and optimistic forecasts for the development of nuclear energy.

But each subsequent year made its own adjustments to these forecasts. On the one hand, nuclear power had its supporters in governments, in the uranium industry, in research laboratories, and among powerful energy companies. On the other hand, a strong opposition arose, in which groups defending the interests of the population, the cleanliness of the environment and the rights of consumers united. The debate, which continues to this day, has focused mainly on the harmful effects of various stages of the fuel cycle on the environment, the likelihood of reactor accidents and their possible consequences, the organization of the construction and operation of reactors, acceptable options for the disposal of nuclear waste, the potential for sabotage and terrorist attacks. at nuclear power plants, as well as issues of multiplying national and international efforts in the field of non-proliferation of nuclear weapons.

Security issues.

The Chernobyl disaster and other nuclear reactor accidents in the 1970s and 1980s, among other things, made it clear that such accidents are often unpredictable. For example, at Chernobyl, Unit 4's reactor was severely damaged as a result of a power surge that occurred during a scheduled shutdown. The reactor was in a concrete shell and was equipped with an emergency cooling system and other modern safety systems. But it never occurred to anyone that when the reactor was turned off, a sharp power surge could occur and the gaseous hydrogen formed in the reactor after such a surge, mixed with air, would explode in such a way that it would destroy the reactor building. As a result of the accident, more than 30 people died, more than 200,000 people in Kyiv and neighboring regions received large doses of radiation, and the source of Kyiv's water supply was contaminated. To the north of the crash site - right in the path of the radiation cloud - are the vast Pripyat swamps, which are of vital importance to the ecology of Belarus, Ukraine and western Russia.

In the United States, industries building and operating nuclear reactors have also faced many safety issues that have slowed down construction, forced many changes to design and operating standards, and pushed up the cost and cost of electricity. There appear to have been two main sources of these difficulties. One of them is the lack of knowledge and experience in this new energy sector. The other is the development of nuclear reactor technology, in the course of which new problems arise. But the old ones remain, such as corrosion of steam generator pipes and cracking of pipelines of boiling water reactors. Other safety problems, such as damage caused by abrupt changes in coolant flow, have not been fully resolved.

Economics of nuclear energy.

Investments in nuclear energy, like investments in other areas of electricity generation, are economically justified if two conditions are met: the cost per kilowatt-hour is no more than that of the cheapest alternative production method, and the expected demand for electricity is high enough that the generated energy can be sold. at a price in excess of its cost. In the early 1970s, the world economic outlook looked very favorable for nuclear power, with both the demand for electricity and the prices of the main fuels, coal and oil, rising rapidly. As for the cost of building a nuclear power plant, almost all experts were convinced that it would be stable or even begin to decline. However, in the early 1980s, it became clear that these estimates were erroneous: the growth in demand for electricity stopped, the prices for natural fuel not only did not grow anymore, but even began to decline, and the construction of nuclear power plants was much more expensive than expected in the most pessimistic forecast. As a result, nuclear power everywhere entered a period of serious economic difficulties, and they were most serious in the country where it originated and developed most intensively - in the United States.

If we conduct a comparative analysis of the US nuclear energy economy, it becomes clear why this industry has lost its competitiveness. Since the early 1970s, the costs of nuclear power plants have risen sharply. The costs of a conventional CHP plant are made up of direct and indirect capital investments, fuel costs, operating costs and maintenance costs. Over the life of a coal-fired thermal power plant, fuel costs average 50–60% of all costs. In the case of nuclear power plants, capital investments dominate, accounting for about 70% of all costs. The capital costs of new nuclear reactors, on average, far exceed the lifetime fuel costs of coal-fired power plants, negating the benefit of fuel savings in the case of nuclear power plants.

Prospects for nuclear energy.

Among those who insist on the need to continue the search for safe and economical ways to develop nuclear energy, two main directions can be distinguished. Supporters of the first believe that all efforts should be focused on eliminating public distrust in the safety of nuclear technology. To do this, it is necessary to develop new reactors that are safer than existing light water reactors. Two types of reactors are of interest here: a "technologically extremely safe" reactor and a "modular" high-temperature gas-cooled reactor.

The prototype of a modular gas-cooled reactor was developed in Germany, as well as in the USA and Japan. Unlike a light water reactor, the design of a modular gas cooled reactor is such that the safety of its operation is ensured passively - without direct actions of operators or an electrical or mechanical protection system. In technologically extremely safe reactors, a passive protection system is also used. Such a reactor, the idea of which was proposed in Sweden, does not appear to have progressed beyond the design stage. But it has received strong support in the US among those who see its potential advantages over a modular gas-cooled reactor. But the future of both options is uncertain due to their uncertain cost, development difficulties, and the controversial future of nuclear power itself.

Proponents of the other direction believe that before the moment when the developed countries need new power plants, there is little time left for the development of new reactor technologies. In their opinion, the primary task is to stimulate investment in nuclear energy.

But in addition to these two prospects for the development of nuclear energy, a completely different point of view has also formed. She pins her hopes on a more complete utilization of supplied energy, renewable energy resources (solar batteries, etc.) and energy saving. According to supporters of this point of view, if the advanced countries switch to the development of more economical sources of light, household electrical appliances, heating equipment and air conditioners, then the saved electricity will be enough to do without all existing nuclear power plants. The observed significant decrease in electricity consumption shows that efficiency can be an important factor in limiting the demand for electricity.

Thus, nuclear energy has not yet withstood the test of efficiency, safety, and public disposition. Its future now depends on how effectively and reliably control over the construction and operation of nuclear power plants will be carried out, as well as how successfully a number of other problems will be solved, such as the problem of radioactive waste disposal. The future of nuclear energy also depends on the viability and expansion of its strong competitors - coal-fired thermal power plants, new energy-saving technologies and renewable energy resources.

Belov Maxim, Kaniseva INNA

The use of atomic energy for peaceful purposes. The work was prepared by students of the 1st year of secondary vocational education................................................... ................................................. ................................................. ................................................. ................................................. ................................................. ................................................. ................................................. ................................................. .........

Download:

Preview:

State budgetary educational institution of secondary vocational education "Samara Trade and Economic College"

REPORT

Application of atomic energy

Prepared; Belov Maxim, Kaniseva Inna - students of the Samara College of Trade and Economics.

Head: Urakova Akhslu Rashidovna, teacher of physics and mathematics.

SAMARA 2012

Atomic Energy

Already at the end of the 20th century, the problem of finding alternative energy sources became very relevant. Despite the fact that our planet is truly rich in natural resources, such as oil, coal, timber, etc., all these riches, unfortunately, are exhaustible. In addition, the needs of mankind are growing every day and we have to look for more and more new and perfect sources of energy.
For a long time, mankind has found one way or another to solve the issue of alternative energy sources, but the real breakthrough in the history of energy was the emergence of nuclear energy. Nuclear theory has come a long way in development before people learned how to use it for their own purposes. It all started back in 1896, when A. Becquerel registered invisible rays emitted by uranium ore, and which had a great penetrating power. Later this phenomenon was called radioactivity. The history of the development of nuclear energy contains several dozen outstanding names, including Soviet physicists. The final stage of development can be called 1939 - when Yu.B. Khariton and Ya.B. Zeldovich theoretically showed the possibility of a chain reaction of fission of uranium-235 nuclei. Further development of nuclear power went by leaps and bounds. According to the most rough estimates, the energy that is released by the fission of 1 kilogram of uranium can be compared with the energy that is obtained by burning 2,500,000 kg of coal.

But because of the outbreak of the war, all research was redirected to the military area. The first example of nuclear energy that a person was able to demonstrate to the whole world was the atomic bomb ... Then the hydrogen bomb ... Only years later, the scientific community turned its attention to more peaceful areas where the use of nuclear energy could be really useful.
Thus began the dawn of the youngest field of energy. Nuclear power plants (NPPs) began to appear, and the world's first NPP was built in the city of Obninsk, Kaluga Region. Today, there are several hundred nuclear power plants around the world. The development of nuclear energy has been incredibly fast. In less than 100 years, she was able to achieve an ultra-high level of technological development. The amount of energy that is released during the fission of uranium or plutonium nuclei is incomparably large - this made it possible to create large industrial-type nuclear power plants.
So how do you get this energy? It's all about the chain reaction of nuclear fission of some radioactive elements. Usually uranium-235 or plutonium is used. Nuclear fission begins when a neutron enters it - an elementary particle that has no charge, but has a relatively large mass (0.14% more than the mass of a proton). As a result, fission fragments and new neutrons are formed, which have high kinetic energy, which in turn is actively converted into heat.
This type of energy is produced not only in nuclear power plants. It is also used on nuclear submarines and nuclear icebreakers.
For the normal functioning of nuclear power plants, they still need fuel. As a rule, it is uranium. This element is widely distributed in nature, but is difficult to access. In nature, there are no deposits of uranium (such as oil), it is, as it were, "smeared" over the entire earth's crust. The richest uranium ores, which are very rare, contain up to 10% pure uranium. Uranium is commonly found in uranium-bearing minerals as an isomorphic replacement element. But with all this, the total amount of uranium on the planet is grandiosely large. Perhaps in the near future, the latest technologies will increase the percentage of uranium production.
But such a powerful source of energy, and hence strength, cannot but cause concern. There is constant debate about its reliability and safety. It is difficult to assess what damage nuclear energy does to the environment. Is it so effective and profitable that such losses can be neglected? How safe is it? Moreover, unlike any other energy sector, it is not only about environmental safety. Everyone remembers the terrible consequences of the events in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. When humanity has such power, the question arises, is it worthy of such power? Will we be able to adequately dispose of what we have and not destroy it?
If tomorrow our planet ran out of all the reserves of traditional energy sources, then nuclear energy would probably become the only area that could really replace it. Its benefits cannot be denied, but the possible consequences should not be forgotten either.

Application of atomic energy

Nuclear fission energyuranium or plutonium applied in nuclearand thermonuclear weapons (as a trigger for a thermonuclear reaction). There were experimental nuclear rocket engines, but they were tested exclusively on Earth and under controlled conditions, due to the danger of radioactive contamination in the event of an accident.

On the nuclear power plantsnuclear energy is used to generate heat used to generate electricity and heating. Nuclear power plants have solved the problem of ships with an unlimited navigation area (nuclear icebreakers, nuclear submarines, nuclear aircraft carriers). In the context of a shortage of energy resourcesnuclear energy

The energy released during radioactive decay is used in long-lived heat sources and beta-voltaic cells. Automatic interplanetary station type"Pioneer" and Voyager radioisotope thermoelectric generators are used. An isotopic heat source was used by the SovietLunokhod-1.

Fusion energy is used inhydrogen bomb.

Nuclear energy is used in medicine:

Functional diagnostics:scintigraphy and positron emission tomography
Diagnosis: radioimmunology
Treatment of thyroid cancer with isotope 131 I
Proton surgery

Today, nuclear medicine makes it possible to study almost all systems of human organs and is used in

Chernobyl disaster

Almost 25 years have passed since the terrible event that shocked the whole world. The echoes of this catastrophe of the century will stir the souls of people for a long time to come, and its consequences will touch people more than once.

Chernobyl disaster and its consequences

The consequences of the Chernobyl disaster made themselves felt in the very first months after the explosion. People living in the territories adjacent to the site of the tragedy died from hemorrhages and apoplexy.
The liquidators of the consequences of the accident suffered: out of the total number of liquidators of 600,000, about 100,000 people are no longer alive - they died from malignant tumors and destruction of the hematopoietic system. The existence of other liquidators cannot be called cloudless - they suffer from numerous diseases, including cancer, disorders of the nervous and endocrine systems.

However, given the lack of energy resourcesnuclear energyconsidered the most promising in the coming decades.

Bibliography

1. Ignatenko. E. I. Chernobyl: events and lessons. M., 1989

2. Nuclear power. History and modernity. M., Science. 1991

The classical sources of energy from the very beginning of industrialization were natural resources: oil, gas and coal, burned to produce energy. With the development of industry and other industries, as well as in connection with the inevitable, humanity is discovering new sources of energy that are not so detrimental to the environment, more energetically beneficial and do not require the depletion of exhaustible natural resources. Nuclear power (also called nuclear) deserves special attention.

What is its advantage? Nuclear power is based mainly on the use of uranium as an energy source and, to a lesser extent, plutonium. Uranium reserves in the earth's crust and the world's oceans, which can be mined using modern technologies, are estimated at 10 8 tons. This amount will be enough for another thousand years, which is incomparable with the remaining reserves, for example, of the same oil. Nuclear power with proper operation and waste disposal is practically safe for the environmental situation - the amount of emissions of various harmful substances into the environment is negligible. Finally, it is effective from an economic point of view. All this suggests that the development of nuclear energy is of great importance for the energy industry as a whole.

Today, the share of nuclear power plants in world energy production is approximately 16%. Nuclear power is currently developing at a somewhat slower pace. The main reason for this is the belief in its danger that has spread among the public. The catastrophe that happened in Japan a few years ago and is still unforgotten contributes to creating an unpleasant image of nuclear energy. The fact is that the causes of such disasters are always and / or non-compliance with safety regulations. Accordingly, with careful operation and development of security, the likelihood of such incidents is minimized.

Other problems of nuclear energy also include questions about the disposal and the fate of non-functioning nuclear power plants. With regard to waste, their amount is much less than the number of those in other sectors of the energy industry. Various studies are also being carried out, the purpose of which is to find the best way to dispose of waste.

The prospects for nuclear power in modern industry, however, are rather negative. Despite its theoretical advantage, in reality it turned out that nuclear energy cannot completely replace the classical industries. In addition, public distrust of it and problems with ensuring safety at nuclear power plants play their role. Although, of course, nuclear power will not disappear as such anytime soon, it is unlikely that there will be high hopes for it, and it will simply complement the classical energy industry.