User talk:Matt12mjc

"Atomic Power" redirects here. For the film, see Atomic Power (film). This article is about the power source. For nation states that are nuclear powers, see List of states with nuclear weapons.

The Susquehanna Steam Electric Station, a boiling water reactor. The reactors are located inside the rectangular containment buildings towards the front of the cooling towers.

Three nuclear powered American warships, (top to bottom) nuclear cruisers USS Bainbridge and USS Long Beach with USS Enterprise the first nuclear powered aircraft carrier in 1964. Crew members are spelling out Einstein's mass-energy equivalence formula E = mc2 on the flight deck.

The Russian nuclear powered icebreaker NS Yamal on a 1994 joint expedition with the NSF. Nuclear power is the use of sustained nuclear fission to generate heat and electricity. Nuclear power plants provided about 5.7% of the world's energy and 13% of the world's electricity, in 2012.[1] In January 2013, the IAEA reported there were 437 nuclear power reactors in operation in the world,[2][3] operating in 31 countries.[4] Also, more than 150 naval vessels using nuclear propulsion have been built. There is an ongoing debate about the use of nuclear energy.[5][6][7] Proponents, such as the World Nuclear Association, the IAEA and Environmentalists for Nuclear Energy contend that nuclear power is a sustainable energy source that reduces carbon emissions.[8] Opponents, such as Greenpeace International and NIRS, believe that nuclear power poses many threats to people and the environment.[9][10][11] Nuclear power plant accidents include the Chernobyl disaster (1986), Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster (2011), and the Three Mile Island accident (1979).[12] There have also been some nuclear-powered submarine mishaps.[12][13][14] Research into safety improvements is continuing[15] and nuclear fusion, believed to be safer, may be used in the future. As of 2013, according to the IAEA and the European Nuclear Society, worldwide there were 68 civil nuclear power reactors under construction in 15 countries.[2][3] China has 29 of these nuclear power reactors under construction, as of 2013, with plans to build many more,[3][16] while in the US the licenses of almost half its reactors have been extended to 60 years,[17] and plans to build another dozen are under serious consideration.[18] However, Japan's 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster prompted a rethink of nuclear energy policy in many countries.[19] Germany decided to close all its reactors by 2022, and Italy has banned nuclear power.[19] Following Fukushima, the International Energy Agency halved its estimate of additional nuclear generating capacity to be built by 2035.[20]⊤