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A historical overview of nuclear reactors, from their early development during World War II to their role in powering the modern world. Explore the science behind nuclear fission, the Manhattan Project, types of reactors, and the implications of nuclear energy.
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The Wonderful World Of Nuclear Reactors By Josh Daniels
History: In the Beginning . . . • In the beginning, there was no nuclear power. • People were dependent on fossil fuels , like coal and petroleum. • Steam was the main source of power.
The Quest for Power . . . Gutentag! My name is Otto! • After German scientists Otto Hahn and Lise Meitner discovered nuclear fission in 1938, many were already speculating the use of nuclear fission as a power source.
The Quest Continues . . . • The real impetus came when the second world war broke out in 1939. • Physicists immediately turned their attentions to the use of nuclear fission as a weapon: the atomic bomb. • Since German scientists had discovered nuclear fission, it was feared that the Nazis would soon discover the secret of the atomic bomb.
The Manhattan Project • By far, the most successful program for the development of nuclear weapons was the American Manhattan project, proposed by Albert Einstein, and including some of the greatest minds in theoretical physics, such as J. Robert Oppenheimer and Enrico Fermi. • The purpose of the project was to learn more about the nuclear fission reaction, so that an atomic bomb could be made as a weapon of war.
The Atomic Bomb • In 1942, Fermi produced the first self-sustaining nuclear fission reaction. • To achieve this task, he constructed the first nuclear reactor, the CP-1. • In 1945, the United States demonstrated the success of the Manhattan project by detonating two atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, thus ending WWII. • President Eisenhower soon announced his Atoms for peace program, establishing the groundwork for a formal nuclear power program.
Parts of a Reactor • A moderator slows down the free neutrons to increase the number of fissions. • A Cooling system keeps the reactor’s core components from melting down. • control rods control the speed at which the reaction progresses. • A reflector shield reflects free neutrons back towards the core. • A thermal shield absorbs the heat generated by the chain reaction. • And a biological shield protects the human operators from harmful gamma radiation.
Types of Reactors • There are three basic types of reactors. • Power reactors are used to produce steam in order to power a turbine. • Research or experimental reactors are used mainly to produce fuel and conduct nuclear experiments. • Breeder reactors are used to produce both power and fuel at the same time.
Implications and predictions • Nuclear energy has many serious concerns that go along with the benefits: • The fission fragments that are produced as a result of fission are highly radioactive thousands of years after they were created. We must store them in order to protect our environment from radiation hazards. • There is no doubt that radiation hazards are serious concerns: in 1986, the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in what is now the Ukraine exploded, devastating much of Europe and parts of Asia with nuclear waste and radiation. • Another problem is how to prevent the increased use of nuclear weapons, and avoid nuclear war. • Many predict that man will turn toward an alternative, more efficient power source in the future, but that remains uncertain.
