AA-V1: Nuclear - good or bad?

nu·cle·us ; A central or essential part around which other parts are gathered or grouped.[1]

We associate nuclear with nuclear power, but really it does many more things, such as the nucleus of the cell, the nucleus of the atom, as well as nuclear bombs. Here we shall discuss the positive and negative associations and consequences of all things nuclear.

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Within each of the cells that make up our body, and all living things, there is an important organelle known as the nucleus. Here the DNA that makes you, you and makes a rose, a rose, is stored. It is the most important part of the cell and controls every function the cell performs, they are like the brains of the cell! However, there is an even smaller nucleus, which is the centre of the atom that makes up everything. From this nucleus we can produce power, which generates electricity.

Nuclear automatically brings up negative connotations due to nuclear weapons and nuclear disasters, which have been hyped up by the media. The two most notable are; The Chernobyl Disaster, and The atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

On August 6^th 1945, as World War II [3] was coming to an end, the American army dropped two nuclear bombs on two large Japanese cities, Hiroshima and Nagasaki. In Hiroshima the 60 kilogram bomb vapourised everything in its path, killing about 30% of the population in each city instantly and more or less injuring most other people. From this we can see the devastating effects of nuclear physics. There was a radius of total destruction of one mile from where the bomb exploded and you could see shadows of people on the walls of buildings that remained intact due to the tremendous heat from the explosion.

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At the end of 1945 a further 90,000 – 166,000 were killed due to radiation burns, diseases and lack of medical resources. By 1950 another 200,000 were killed by cancer due to the radiation, or other illness due to radiation poisoning. At the same time a 6.4 kilogram bomb was dropped on Nagasaki killing 40,000 that day and another 40,000 by the end of the year. The after effects where just as devastating and the city was wiped out. These events show how nuclear physics can be used as weapons and therefore evil.

Even more recently on the 26^th of April 1986, the 4^th nuclear reactor at Chernobyl exploded killing around 80 people all together.

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Whilst the effects are less dramatic then Hiroshima the long term effects are just as notable however, the long term effects are much worse because 400 times[6] more radioactive material was released into the surrounding area. People living within a radius of 30 kilometers were evactuated due to contamination of the ground, water and food.

As it can be seen nuclear power has devastating affects due to the sheer power it can produce. Not only were these places affected, but also the world was shaken by how nuclear power could affect so many for so long, even to this day everyone realises the potential devastation that it can inflict with small amounts.

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On the lighter side, nuclear power can be used to generate electricity.  This is a great deal better than using the likes of non-renewable resources such as coal, oil and gas.  In addition it also produces much more energy than natural resources, whilst not releasing green house gases into the atmosphere. It is also cheaper to fund than wind, solar and other alternative resources. However it does produce radioactive waste, which must be carefully stored. There is also the risk of another Chernobyl incident, even though, with proper observation and procedure, Chernobyl would not have exploded. Security around the reactants must be tight because anyone in possession of them has the ability to make a radioactive bomb. Radiation can also be used in medicine. It can be used to treat tumors, and detect problems in the body through the use of radioactive tracers.

So, overall, nuclear energy is good in the right hands due to its tremendous electrical potential. However, it can be seen from disasters that, in the wrong hands, it can cause widespread devastation.  So provided it stays in hands that won’t use it as a weapon nuclear physics has massive potential to make the world a better place and is therefore good.

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[1] http://www.thefreedictionary.com/nucleus

[2] http://sciencespot.net/Pages/kdzchem.html

[3]http://www.trumanlibrary.org/whistlestop/study_collections/bomb/large/documents/index.php?pagenumber=3&documentid=65&documentdate=1946-06-19&studycollectionid=abomb&groupid=

[4] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atomic_bombings_of_Hiroshima_and_Nagasaki

[5] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chernobyl_disaster

[6] http://www.iaea.org/Publications/Booklets/Chernoten/facts.html

[7] http://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/energy/stories/nuclear-energy-good-or-bad