Nuclear: Beyond Destruction

What comes to your mind when you hear this word - 'Nuclear'? I guess, if you are not related to Nuclear Equipments and Systems, Nuclear is synonymous with Disaster for most of you. I do not blame you or your conditioned imagination, but is it really a true equation, Nuclear = Disaster? Or Nuclear is more than that? In fact, I would say, Nuclear is the epitome of Technological inventions in the Energy sector for everlasting sustainable and clean sources.

Brief History:

The science of atomic radiation, atomic change, and nuclear fission was developed from 1895 to 1945, much of it in the last six of those years. Over 1939-45, most developments were focused on the atomic bomb. From 1945 attention was given to harnessing this energy in a controlled fashion for naval propulsion and for making electricity. Since 1956 the prime focus has been on the technological evolution of reliable nuclear power plants.

Russian nuclear physics predates the Bolshevik Revolution by more than a decade. The first Nuclear plant was built by Russia. It was called Atomic Power Station, commissioned at Science City of Obninsk in 1954. It was the first grid-connected nuclear reactor that produced commercial electricity.  Similarly, in 1953 USA President Eisenhower proposed his "Atoms for Peace" program, which reoriented significant research effort towards electricity generation and set the course for civil nuclear energy development in the USA. The energy is released in accordance with the principle of mass-energy equivalence. ITER is the next stage, shifting from Fission to Fusion of atoms to produce energy, as produced on the surface of the Sun.
Indian Atomic story started with Maharshi Kanad and reached its peak during Dr. Homi Bhabha's research.

Technical Part:

Important components of any Nuclear Power Plants are Fuel (mostly Uranium, in the form of pellets Uranium Oxides), Moderator (generally Heavy Water or Graphite) to slow down the Neutron release from Fission reaction, Control Rod (generally cadmium or boron) to absorb the Neutrons and thus control the chain reaction, Coolant (generally water or liquid sodium) that circulates in tubes, Pressure Vessel and Pressure Tubes, and Steam Generator. And most important of all is, Containment which is a structure around the reactor designed to protect the reactor from outside intrusion, as well as outsiders from nuclear radiation.

Mishaps:

We are not talking about deliberate misuse of Nuclear Potential, like Manhattan Project (Little Boy and Fat Man!).

1.        Three Mile Island Accident, USA – 1979

2.       Chernobyl Disaster, Ukraine (then the Soviet Union) – 1986

3.       Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Disaster, Japan – 2011

Human Civilization and Potential of Nuclear

The story of Human civilization has many important milestones like fire, wheel, metal, computer, etc. There are increasing accidents due to the increase in the use of wheels, it doesn’t mean that we should stop using wheels, but we found different ways to minimize the accidents. Despite the mishaps like Three Mile Island, USA has the highest number of Nuclear reactors which stands at 99, followed by 58 in France, 43 in Japan and 36 in Russia and China each (IAEA updates on Nov 2016). Not only this, 85% of Energy in France flows from Nuclear Power Plants.

Under Paris Agreement, parties have submitted their Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDCs), which also contains the country’s commitment towards clean and renewable energy sources.

India is promoting Nuclear Power as a safe, environmentally benign and economically viable source to meet the increasing electricity needs of the country. With a 2.2 % share in current installed capacity, the total installed capacity of nuclear power in operation is 5780 MW. Additionally, six reactors with an installed capacity of 4300 MW are at different stages of commissioning and construction. Efforts are being made to achieve 63 GW installed capacity by the year 2032 if the supply of fuel is ensured.

What is ITER - International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor?

ITER("The way" in Latin) is one of the most ambitious energy projects in the world today. The experimental campaign that will be carried out at ITER is crucial to advancing fusion science and preparing the way for the fusion power plants of tomorrow. ITER will be the first fusion device to maintain fusion for long periods of time. And ITER will be the first fusion device to test the integrated technologies, materials, and physics regimes necessary for the commercial production of fusion-based electricity. The ITER Members — China, the European Union, India, Japan, Korea, Russia, and the United States—are now engaged in a 35-year collaboration to build and operate the ITER experimental device, and together bring fusion to the point where a demonstration fusion reactor can be designed. On a cleared, 42-hectare site, the building has been underway since 2010.

Nuclear beyond Power Generation:

Interplanetary spacecraft powered by nuclear energy (e.g. Pu-238 α-decay used by Mars rover “Curiosity”)


INS Arihant is the best example of using Nuclear Power for making stealth submarine. It improves the deterrence of the country.

Food and Agriculture

Fertilizers 'labeled' with a particular isotope, such as N-15 and P-32 provide a means of finding out how much is taken up by the plant and how much is lost, allowing better management of fertilizer application. Using N-15 also enables assessment of how much nitrogen is fixed from the air by soil and by root bacteria in legumes.

Increasing Genetic Variability: New kinds of sorghum, garlic, wheat, bananas, beans, and peppers are more resistant to pests and more adaptable to harsh climatic conditions.

Insect Control: The Sterile Insect Technique (SIT) involves rearing large numbers of insects then irradiating their eggs with gamma radiation before hatching, to sterilize them. The sterile males are then released in large numbers in the infested areas.

Food Preservation: In a hungry world we cannot afford spoilage of food by microbes and pests. The reduction of spoilage due to infestation and contamination is of the utmost importance. This is especially so in countries that have hot and humid climates and where an extension of the storage life of certain foods, even by a few days, is often enough to save them from spoiling before they can be consumed. Some countries lose a high proportion of harvested grain due to molds and insects.

Water Resources

Isotope hydrology techniques enable accurate tracking and measurement of the extent of underground water resources. Such techniques provide important analytical tools in the management and conservation of existing supplies of water and in the identification of new, renewable sources of water. 

Medicine

Many of us are aware of the wide use of radiation and radioisotopes in medicine particularly for diagnosis (identification) and therapy (treatment) of various medical conditions, Medical Diagnosis (PET, MRI) cancer treatment with a proton or heavy-ion beams.

Smoke detectors: One of the commonest uses of radioisotopes today is in household smoke detectors.

Dating:  Analyzing the relative abundance of particular naturally-occurring radioisotopes are of vital importance in determining the age of rocks and other materials that are of interest to geologists, anthropologists, and archaeologists

From the moment we get up in the morning until we go to sleep, we benefit unknowingly from many ingenious applications of radioisotopes and radiation. The water we wash with (origin, supply assurance), the textiles we wear (manufacture control gauging), the breakfast we eat (improved grains, water analysis), our transport to work (thickness gauges for checking steels and coatings on vehicles and assessing the effects of corrosion and wear on motor engines), the bridges we cross (neutron radiography), the paper we use (gauging, mixing during production processes), the drugs we take (analysis) not to mention medical tests (radioimmunoassay, perhaps radiopharmaceuticals), or the environment which radioisotope techniques help to keep clean, are all examples that we sometimes take for granted. 

Conclusion:

Although sometimes attributed to Walter Marshall, a pioneer of nuclear power in the UK the phrase “too cheap to meter” was coined by Lewis Strauss, then Chairman of the US Atomic Energy Commission, who is a 1954 speech to the National Association of Science Writers said:

"Our children will enjoy in their homes electrical energy too cheap to meter... It is not too much to expect that our children will know of great periodic regional famines in the world only as to matters of history, will travel effortlessly over the seas and under them and through the air with a minimum of danger and at great speeds, and will experience a lifespan far longer than ours, as disease yields and the man comes to understand what causes him to age."