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Humans for centuries onward have struggled to efficiently and effectively cope with the ever increasing demands of power consumption to improve our standard of living. With a large percentage of that demand being met by electrical power. A recent study showed that in 2008 alone, a total of 20,279 terawatt-hours(Twh) of electricity was produced worldwide with most of this requirement being met by the combustion of fossil fuels which are natural fuel sources like coal or gas which are formed by natural processes such as the anaerobic decomposition of dead organisms under extreme heat and pressure in the earth's crust for very long periods of time, possibly hundreds of millions of years. They contain relatively high percentages of carbon as seen in petroleum, coal and natural gas.
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Fossil fuels are a very common source of energy as it accounts for 86% of total energy production worldwide and even the united states alone gets 81% of it's total energy from oil, coal and natural gas all of which are fossil fuels. They are also relatively cheap energy sources but with noteworthy disadvantages, some of which include;
#### (1) NON-RENEWABILITY:
Fossil fuels take extremely long periods of time to form reasonable quantities(hundreds of millions of years) and as such the reserves are depleted much faster than they can be replenished or newer ones created. It is estimated that 23.5 tons of fossilized organic material deposited on the ocean floor is required to produce 1Litre of gasoline which also points vividly to the non-renewable nature of this energy source.
#### (2) A MAJOR CAUSE OF GLOBAL WARMING:
When fossil fuels such as coal are burnt to generate power, CO2 is inevitably released into the atmosphere and which may accumulate to a level which causes pollution, and carbon dioxide like every other greenhouse gas acts like a blanket hovering above the surface of the earth, thus preventing infrared radiation which is the subsequent release of energy by the earth in the form of heat. This thus inevitably causes a "warming" of the earth and the earth consequently becomes warmer than it should otherwise be.
#### (3) POSSIBLE ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARDS:
As the gases released after the combustion of fossil fuels are not environmentally friendly, environmental hazards may pose serious threats from time to time. Environmental hazards such as oil spillage have occurred in the past with resulting devastating consequence to both terrestrial and aquatic life while inadvertently causing land or water pollution.
#### (4) NEGATIVE HUMAN HEALTH IMPLICATIONS:
Fossil fuel combustion emissions more often than not lead to severe health problems such as chronic asthma, bronchitis, low long functioning and even death when these toxic by-products are inhaled in fatal or lethal amounts.
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Other problems arise from the usage of fossil fuel energy, such as economic overdependence, price manipulations/fluctuations and others too numerous to mention, and hence the need for a much more reliable, sustainable, and more environmentally friendly energy source(preferably renewable of course).
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## <center>The Need For Reliable And More Sustainable Energy Sources</center>
Due to the fact that the disadvantages of using non-renewable energy sources far outweigh the supposed advantages, the need for more reliable and sustainable energy sources cannot be overemphasized. One which fits this category is definitely **NUCLEAR ENERGY**.
## <center>WHAT IS NUCLEAR ENERGY?</center>
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The entire universe and even our planet itself are made up of very tiny atoms, each having a concentrated mass center in it's nucleus, with the remaining mass distributed around it's surrounding electron cloud. Under the right physical and chemical conditions the nucleus of a very large atom can split in two or the nucleus of two smaller atoms can be merged to form a much heavier nuclei, with both processes leading to the release of substantially large amounts of energy which can be subsequently harnessed by various processes to produce electric power. The energy released in the aforementioned processes are referred to as **NUCLEAR ENERGY** which is the energy contained in the nucleus of an atom. The release of this form of energy, including the amount released is governed by Albert Einstein's famous special-relativity formula **E=MC^2 (that is M times C squared) where M is the mass and C is the speed of light which has a constant value of 299,792,458 metres per second or 186,000 miles per second which is an extremely large value.
Einstein's special-relativity formula clearly shows that Mass and Energy are inter-convertible and this particular knowledge has been practically applied in the creation of nuclear/atomic bombs and is also been presently commercially used in the public sector for the provision of electricity. Nuclear reactions occur mainly in two forms, namely;
## (A) NUCLEAR FUSION:
This type of nuclear reaction is predominant in the sun and occurs when two or more atomic nuclei such as hydrogen and helium come together to form one or more different heavier atomic nuclei and sub-atomic particles(neutrons or protons) with the difference in mass between the reactants and products manifested as the release of large energy amounts.
## (B) NUCLEAR FISSION:
This nuclear reaction involves the splitting of large atoms such as uranium or plutonium into two smaller atoms or fission products with each of lesser mass than the original parent atomic nuclei. This process is achieved by bombarding the parent nuclei with neutrons which lead to the further release of newer neutrons which also split other atomic nuclei and so on, thus creating a nuclear chain reaction. Nuclear fission is currently used by nuclear power plants to generate heat which is then converted into electric power.
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There are currently more than 400 nuclear power reactors operational in about 30 countries worldwide and this accounts for about 14% of total worldwide power generation and consumption. Nuclear energy does indeed have noteworthy advantages besides it's major disadvantages which include the high cost of building nuclear power plants and also the disposal of radioactive nuclear waste. This is because when atoms are split and energy is released via fission reactions, the smaller atoms born from the parent nuclei are often unstable and "excitedly" emit energetic particles such as alpha, beta and gamma rays, and they often do not quickly decay to achieve much needed stability and as such these radioactive waste must be effectively and efficiently contained and kept out from the environment for relatively long periods of time. Some of the advantages include;
## (1)HIGH LEVEL OF SUSTAINABILITY:
Nuclear energy is relatively sustainable, and although the uranium reserves are currently also been rapidly depleted like oil, thus leaving just a century's or so worth of uranium, nuclear energy can also be harnessed from Thorium fuel. And also, nuclear waste is recyclable which means we wouldn't be running out of nuclear energy anytime soon.
## (2)LARGELY ECOLOGICAL:
During operation, nuclear power plants release nothing into the atmosphere and environment except hot water, and also the nuclear waste produced can be disposed off geologically thus ensuring that the process of harnessing nuclear energy is environmentally friendly.
## (3) ECONOMIC INDEPENDENCE:
Nuclear energy and power gives a country a measure of great energy independence thus minimizing the "addiction to oil" or "oil craze".
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Although researchers propose that nuclear energy consumption will triple in the next century, meaning the available uranium reserves will last for 30 years or less, it is noteworthy to mention that the spent fuel can be recycled and reprocessed. As it is rich in plutonium and when combined with the leftover uranium it can be reprocessed into a mixture known as MOX which can also be used as a source/means of fuel and which would thus help to conserve the depleting uranium reserves for many more years to come. Nuclear energy does indeed prove itself to be a much viable, reliable, sustainable, and safe energy production option and will be even better if the full potential of nuclear fusion is fully understood, harnessed and utilized as it is a very clean process.
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#### Thanks for stopping by to read this article. I hope you enjoyed reading though it.
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#### Image Source:
* [Image 1](https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwioweaChJfYAhWKOhQKHTjCDfoQjRwIBw&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.pastemagazine.com%2Farticles%2F2017%2F01%2Fpointcounterpoint-is-nuclear-energy-the-best-respo.html&psig=AOvVaw1EQp1HHbPq8JPiZGBo6uXh&ust=1513805622680964)
* [Image 2](https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwiIiefbipfYAhUEPRQKHYaRD7cQjRwIBw&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.proprofs.com%2Fquiz-school%2Fstory.php%3Ftitle%3Dfossil-fuels-ones-that-harm&psig=AOvVaw0xMJkYVbTQwjQEBnKRf8JM&ust=1513807465728999)
* [Image 3](https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwjm1NP0jZfYAhUGOhQKHXb_BhMQjRwIBw&url=https%3A%2F%2Fsciencing.com%2Fnuclear-energy-affect-environment-4566966.html&psig=AOvVaw2h9ntRi4dUMvH_dZjTMWT5&ust=1513808308865173)
* [Image 4](https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwiJ6IbSjpfYAhUKPxQKHRaYC3sQjRwIBw&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.physics-and-radio-electronics.com%2Fphysics%2Fenergy%2Fpotential-energy%2Fnuclear-energy.html&psig=AOvVaw2h9ntRi4dUMvH_dZjTMWT5&ust=1513808308865173)
#### Article Source:
* [Wikepedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_power)
* [What Is Nuclear](https://whatisnuclear.com/articles/nucenergy.html)
#### Article References:
* [Reference 1](https://whatisnuclear.com/articles/nucenergy.html)
* [Reference 2](http://www.world-nuclear.org/information-library/current-and-future-generation/nuclear-power-in-the-world-today.aspx)
* [Reference 3](https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/index.cfm?page=nuclear_home)
* [Reference 4](https://nuclear-energy.net/what-is-nuclear-energy)
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