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Read the rest of this articleThe Fukushima nuclear reactor: how dangerous is it?
A lot of people who know nothing about nuclear power are saying a lot of things these days during the Japanese nuclear crisis. I’ve toured two different nuclear reactors and my experiences there have taught me a few things that you may not know and that might shed some sober light on this subject.
Guess: How Many People Have Already Been Exposed To Radiation?
Almost 7 billion people are exposed to radiation each day. That's right, the entire population of the world is constantly absorbing radiation from the earth, from the sun, and from the universe. As a resident of Denver Colorado, I get about three times as much radiation as most people do along the coasts. The Mile High City is above much of the atmosphere, and the Rocky Mountains are full of radioactive substances. People living in other parts of Colorado are exposed to even more radiation. Radiation is everywhere; the question is really how much radiation people are receiving beyond their normal exposure. Think about that when you hear a panicked report of slightly elevated levels of radiation in Tokyo.
What Jobs Expose People To The Most And The Least Radiation?
A member of an airline flight crew gets the most radiation of any profession. This is because they spend so much time outside of the vast majority of the earth's atmosphere. Who gets the least: would you believe a crewmember on a nuclear submarine? That is because they spend so much time deep below the ocean's surface. Seawater makes an excellent shield against radiation from both the earth and the cosmos. As for the reactor itself, it is highly shielded as well. Upon exiting the last reactor I visited, we were all scanned by a radiation detector. The result was that the glow-in-the-dark radium from our wrist watches was emitting far more radiation than anything entering the environment from of a properly functioning reactor. As I write this, I am sitting just a few hundred feet from that reactor, a research reactor that does not produce electricity.
How Does Nuclear Safety Compare To Other Forms Of Energy?
31 people died at Chernobyl, which has been the only fatal accident at a commercial nuclear reactor so far. Perhaps as many as 30,000 premature fatalities may be attributed to cancer as a result of that accident. That is pretty bad right? Yes it is, as each death is a tragedy.
By contrast, between 1969 and 2000 there have been 20,000 deaths directly related to oil production. Another 16,000 have died in coal mining accidents. Another 1,000,000 premature deaths annually are attributed to pollution, largely from fossil fuels. The number of deaths attributed to global climate change from the burning of fossil fuels cannot yet be estimated. When put in perspective, it is clear that nuclear energy is far safer than the continued burning of fossil fuels. As for the other non-health related forms of environmental damage, it seems clear that the last half century of massive oil spills, mountaintop removal of coal, and other disasters have spoiled the earth to a greater extent than nuclear accidents have.
Where Do We Go From Here?
Nuclear energy remains the only carbon neutral way to generate large scale quantities of electricity. There have been countless disasters in the oil, gas, and coal industries, yet we haven't yet given up these energy sources. At the same time, people are now questioning the continued operation and construction of nuclear plants. The obvious reason is that most of the deaths that have been directly attributed to fossil fuel production have afflicted people who chose to work in that industry. With nuclear power, the risk spreads to the general population.
The only certain result of the Fukushima nuclear disaster will be that the cost of nuclear energy will increase as the world implements even more stringent controls and safeguards. From the standpoint of an environmentalist, this may be a problem that solves itself. As the price of new reactors climb, and the cost of other forms of renewable energy falls, simple economics may do what a generation of protesters failed to do, ending the nuclear industry. Certainly, if the true costs of fossil fuels were factored into its price, we may have largely abandoned them some time ago.
Comments
great article!!!
intertesting... but very superficial......
Quantum Energetics - there is an alternative to the nuclear power plants
Vladimir Leonov
There are now over 440 commercial nuclear power reactors operating in 30 countries. It's 440 nuclear bombs. 1986 - Chernobyl, 2011 – Fukushima. Who will be next? Large earthquakes occur every 20 years. The mankind can to disappear in 200 years.
Quantum Energetics - there is an alternative to the nuclear power plants.
Leonov V. S. Quantum Energetics. Volume 1. Theory of Superunification. Cambridge International Science Publishing, 2010, 745 pages.
Quantum energetics is based on new fundamental discoveries of quantum of space-time (quanton) and super-strong electromagnetic interaction (SEI) made by Vladimir Leonov in 1996. On the basis of new fundamental discoveries the theory of Superunification of fundamental interactions of electromagnetism, gravitation, nuclear and electro-weak forces is completed. It is important that new fundamental discoveries have the widest practical application in the development of quantum energetics. It is discovered that the single source of energy in the Universe is the quanton in the structure of quantized space-time, which is the carrier of super-strong interaction (SEI). All known methods of energy generation (chemical and nuclear reactionsm etc.) are redued to the release and transformation of SEI energy. Quantum energetics is a more general concept in energetics, which includes both the new energetic cycles, and traditional ones, including nuclear energetics.
The theory of Superunification is confirmed experimentally: Leonov effect, Usherenko effect and other.
Leonov effect.
Results of the tests of a quantum engine for generating thrust without the ejection of reactive mass. http://inauka.ru/blogs/article104833.html
In two years of experimental work it was possible to increase the thrust from 0.1 N to 500 N with the mass of apparatus being 50 kg together with the chassis. The diameter of the apparatus of was 1.5 m, the height 1.05 m together with the chassis. Unusual even for the author was to observe the motion of the apparatus which has no screws, jet nozzle and drive for the wheels. High stability is typical of the work of the quantum engine. . The effect of generating thrust without the ejection of reactive mass during the operation of the quantum engine did not disappear even after 6 months in repeated tests. This fundamental effect is always well reproduced.
Usherenko effect
In 1974 the Belorussian scientist Sergey Usherenko discovered the effect of the ultradeep penetration (UDP) of particle-strikers of micron sizes in solid targets with the release of colossal energy in the channel of the target. The particles 10…100 microns in size, accelerated to a speed on the order of 1 km/s, pierced right through a steel target with a thickness of 200 mm, leaving a molten channel. Even according to approximate calculations the energy required for melting the channel is 100…10000 times greater than the kinetic energy of the particle-striker. This cannot be achieved by chemical reactions. Where does the additional energy in the Usherenko effect come from? It is obvious, that this additional energy can be generated only by the high-energy processes characteristic of nuclear physics and elementary particles.
Leonov V.S., Cold synthesis in the Usherenko effect and its application in power engineering, Agrokonsalt, Moscow, 2001.
Leonov V.S., Russian Federation patent No. 220 1625, A method of generation of energy and a reactor for this purpose, Bull. 9, 2003.
The development of civilization determines fundamental scientific discoveries. The discovery of the quantum of space-time (quanton) and of the superstrong electromagnetic interaction has been used as the basis for the development of the theory of Superunification of fundamental interactions: electromagnetism, gravity, nuclear and electroweak forces. The theory of Super-integration is a scientific fact.
The theory of Superunification shows that the superstrong electromagnetic interaction (SEI) is the sole energy source in the universe. It has been established that the quantised space-time, which possesses the colossal energy content, serves as the carrier of superstrong electromagnetic interaction. We live in the electromagnetic universe. All known forms of energy, including chemical, nuclear, gravitational, electromagnetic, etc, are only methods of extraction or conversion of united energy of SEI.
The electromagnetic nature of gravity and antigravity and the electrical nature of nuclear forces have been confirmed. The structure of the basic elementary particles has been revealed: electron, positron, proton, neutron, electronic neutrino and photon. The elementary particles proved to be not only elementary and they have a complex structure being the indissoluble and component part of the quantised space-time.
New fundamental discoveries have high applied value. The theory of Superunification opens the page of physics of open quantum-mechanical systems forming the basis of quantum energetics. The ability of quantum energetics to extract the energy of superstrong electromagnetic interaction through the new power cycles determines the development of power engineering, transport and communications in the 21st century. The construction of quantum engines, heat-generators and reactors is discussed in the book. The successful tests of a quantum engine generating thrust without the ejection of reactive mass have been carried out (Leonov effect). A thrust of 500 N with the mass of the apparatus with the chassis being 50 kg was produced. New results have been obtained in the studies of the Usherenko effect, with the generation of excess energy as a result of cold synthesis.
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