Nuclear Reactors

Abstract

It can’t be denied that he peaceful use of nuclear energy has always suffered from the stigma of being associated with warfare. The first nuclear reactor was developed by Fermi and Leo Szilard during the Manhattan Project with the aim of showing how a fission chain reaction works. The design of the most common reactor of our days, the LWR, is based on the reactors developed for nuclear submarines. On the other hand, the initial expansion of nuclear energy went hand in hand with the growth of the nuclear superpowers. The USA, Russia, France and the UK simultaneously built power plants in order to generate electricity and produce a nuclear arsenal. Two processes that can be used both to obtain nuclear fuel and as a raw material for atomic warheads and are uranium enrichment and the reprocessing of fuel used in a reactor. Let’s see why.

The preference of wildlife for nuclear-waste sites (meaning Chernobyl) suggests that the best sites for its disposal are the tropical forests and other habitats in need of a reliable guardian against their destruction by hungry farmers and developers.

James Lovelock, “The revenge of Gaia”