Nuclear Energy
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Nuclear energy used for electricity
Very similar to fossil fuel plants
Nuclear energy is mainly used for electricity.
More data can be found at the EIA
Fusion joins atomic nuclei
Sun is a fusion reaction
Fission splits atomic nuclei
Nuclear energy is a fission reaction
Mass Energy Equivalence
$E = mc^2$
The very high binding energy in the nucleus allows for small amounts
of fuel to release large amounts of energy
3 million times more electricity per kg than coal
Elements become other elements (the goal of alchemists)
Iron most stable
Definition
Relation to carbon dating
Relevance to end of life
Plutonium 239 half life of 2400 years
Source
Deaths per TWh
Coal
161
Solar
0.44
Nuclear
0.04
Source: nextbigfuture.com based on WHO data
Over 430 nuclear reactors
370 GW of capacity
70 reactors under construction
About 10% of world electricity production
US Nuclear Capacity
US Nuclear Energy Production
Cost is seen as a key weakness for nuclear electricity
Plant construction
Fixed operation and maintenance
Variable operation and maintenance
Decommissioning cost
Waste disposal
cost of construction 83.4 USD/MWh
fixed operation and maintenance 11.6 USD/MWh
variable operation and maintenance (fuel) 12.3 USD/MWh
total 108.4 USD/MWh
compare to coal (65.7, 4.1, 29.2, 100.1)
compare to natural gas (17.4, 2.0, 45.0, 67.1)
