I was really happy to read the news that nuclear power is receiving so much of attention nowadays. Found this in The Hindu today. When you consider the fact that coal and oil reserves are soon getting depleted and renewable energy sources are currently not being utilized to their full capacity, nuclear energy is the only option to keep the world going. In fact it is the only way to get energy really quick and also not pollute the earth, something that cannot be achieved with the coal and oil.The article also mentioned the fact that Nuclear Engineering courses in the US are getting filled up rapidly. I guess the students are smart enough to realize that they have a good opportunity in the future. Moreover, they would be contributing towards a cleaner environment by eliminating or atleast reducing our dependance on other forms of energy.
There could be many of you who may not agree with me saying that nuclear energy is dangerous. Well, all I can say to this argument is that 'Fire' was considered dangerous thousands of years ago, but today, we have learnt to keep it within our control to a large extent. Today it will be nuclear energy. What we need are good methods for safely using this new form of energy and keeping it under control. I would like to see the fields of nuclear science and engineering developing to much higher levels. We need more nuclear plants for producing power than to blow up places. More energy would lead to more progress. More progress would in turn benefit the economy, which ultimately would benefit all sections of society, especially the poor. Wouldn't that be worth the risk?
To all you nuclear scientists out there. The challenge is here and NOW!
3 comments:
Its a good one. Keep writing!
Nuclear (fission) is not liked by many not because it is 'dangerous' but it is dirty, way too many toxic waste products and by-products, fire on the other hand does not produce as much toxic waste or by-product (in a comparitive scale), so comparing the fear of fire in ancient times to the current concern for nuclear energy is incorrect.
I feel it will be fusion and not fission that 'may' save us all.
The 'Fear' factor was discussed more from a psychological view point than concerning environmental issues. The keyword was 'control'. Moreover, no reference was made to fission or fusion. I don't have enough knowledge about that to decide which among them is better. Anyway, thanks for the comment, it was informative.
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