Eerkens The Nuclear Imperative

A Critical Look at the Approaching Energy Crisis (More Physics for Presidents)
2. Auflage 2010
ISBN: 978-90-481-8667-9
Verlag: Springer Netherlands
Format: PDF
Kopierschutz: 1 - PDF Watermark

E-Book, Englisch, Band 16, 212 Seiten

Reihe: Topics in Safety, Risk, Reliability and Quality

In this well documented global wake-up call, nuclear physicist Jeff Eerkens explores remedies for the impending energy crisis, when oil and natural gas are depleted. Because burning coal worsens the problem of global warming, alternate energy sources must be instituted. The Nuclear Imperative demonstrates with scientific documentation that solar, wind, and biomass power alone, while helpful, are incapable of supplying and sustaining the enormous quantities of electricity and heat needed for manufacturing portable synthetic fuels (synfuels) to replace our current use of fossil fuels. Instead, it offers a fresh look at uranium-produced energy as the optimal affordable solution.

Long misunderstood and irrationally feared because of antiquated beliefs by the general public, modern nuclear power generation is safer, cleaner, and essential for solving the future energy shortfall. Using a detailed, scientific approach to dispel common myths, The Nuclear Imperative shows that uranium fission power is available for 1,500 years as a prime energy source to provide all the world’s energy needs. Because it takes ten to twenty years to design, test, and build new synfuel-producing reactors and new engines powered by new synfuels, action must be taken soon to prevent a catastrophy thirty years from now when oil runs out.

This is the second, corrected and revised edition of this work.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Eerkens, Jeff

Inhaltsverzeichnis

1;The Nuclear Imperative;1
1.1;Preface to the Second Edition;7
1.2;Preface to the First Edition;9
1.3;List of Briefs;17
1.4;Abstract;19
2;Chapter 1: Introduction;21
2.1;1.1 Oil Depletion;21
2.2;1.2 Global Warming;26
2.3;1.3 Preparations for the Impending Out-of-Oil Crisis;30
2.4;1.4 Ways and Risks to Overcome the Pending No-Oil Crisis;32
2.4.1;1.4.1 Risks in the Nuclear Millennia Option;35
2.4.1.1;1.4.1.1 Safety Considerations and Biosphere Effects;35
2.4.1.2;1.4.1.2 Technical Feasibility, Operability, and Ability to Deliver;39
2.4.1.3;1.4.1.3 Financial Feasibilty;42
2.4.2;1.4.2 Risks of the Renewables-Only Option;43
2.4.2.1;1.4.2.1 Safety Considerations and Biosphere Effects;43
2.4.2.2;1.4.2.2 Technical Feasibility, Operability, and Ability to Deliver;44
2.4.2.3;1.4.2.3 Financial Feasibilty;45
2.4.3;1.4.3 The Coal-Burning Option;45
2.4.3.1;1.4.3.1 Safety Considerations and Biosphere Effects;45
2.4.3.2;1.4.3.2 Technical Feasibility, Operability, and Ability to Deliver;46
2.4.3.3;1.4.3.3 Financial Feasibilty;46
2.4.4;1.4.4 The Do-Nothing Option;47
2.4.4.1;1.4.4.1 Safety Considerations and Biosphere Effects;47
2.4.4.2;1.4.4.2 Technical Feasibility, Operability, and Ability to Deliver;47
2.4.4.3;1.4.4.3 Financial Feasibility;47
2.4.4.4;1.4.4.4 Conclusions Based on the Risk Assessment of Options (1), (2), (3), and (4);47
2.5;1.5 Organization of the Book;50
3;Chapter 2: Nuclear Fables and Facts;52
3.1;2.1 Fable (1): “Nuclear Reactors are Like Nuclear Bombs”;52
3.2;2.2 Fable (2): “We Don’t Need More Nuclear Power; There Is Plenty of Natural Gas, Oil, and Coal”;53
3.3;2.3 Fable (3): “Nuclear Power Plants Create Lots of “Dangerous” Radioactive Waste, Which We Don’t Know How to Transport or St;54
3.4;2.4 Fable (4): “Nuclear Power Is Not Needed. “Free” Renewable Solar, Wind, Hydro, and Geothermal Power Will Do. The Utilitie;55
3.5;2.5 Fable (5): “We Only Have 50 Years of Uranium Ore to Sustain a World Fueled by Fission Power. Coal Reserves Would Last at ;57
3.6;2.6 Fable (6): “We Should Wait for Development of Nuclear Fusion Which Produces No Radioactivity”;57
3.7;2.7 Fable (7): “Hydrogen-Consuming Fuel-Cell Engines and Electric Energy Storage Batteries Can Replace Petrol-Burning Autom;58
3.8;2.8 Fable (8): “Nuclear Reactor Operations Are Unsafe”;61
3.9;2.9 Fable (9): “The Longer the Lifetime of a Radioactive Element, the More Dangerous It Is for Man”;62
3.10;2.10 Fable (10): “Thousands of People Will Die After a Nuclear Plant Meltdown”;63
3.11;2.11 Fable (11): “Exposure to “Radiation” Can Cause Long-Term After-Effects in One’s Body”;63
3.12;2.12 Fable (12): “Nuclear Plants Consume Millions of Gallons of Water, Depriving Others of This Commodity”;65
4;Chapter 3: Energy Consumption and Energy Sources on Planet Earth;66
4.1;3.1 Definition of Energy and Units for Energy and Power;66
4.2;3.2 Amounts and Forms of Energy Consumed by Man;70
4.3;3.3 A Brief History of Energy;74
4.4;3.4 Summary of Primary Energy Sources;82
5;Chapter 4: “Renewable” Energy Sources and Their Limitations;84
5.1;4.1 Sunshine-Produced Biomass and Biofuels;85
5.2;4.2 Direct Solar Energy Conversion;87
5.3;4.3 Wind Energy;90
5.4;4.4 Geothermal, Hydro, and Ocean-Wave Power;92
5.5;4.5 Economic Comparisons;94
6;Chapter 5: Portable Energy and Propulsion Technologies;95
6.1;5.1 Review of Portable Fuels and Other Energy Carriers;96
6.1.1;5.1.1 Portable Synfuels;96
6.1.2;5.1.2 Electric Storage Batteries;104
6.1.3;5.1.3 Flywheel Energy Storage (Mechanical Batteries);106
6.2;5.2 Vehicle Propulsion Engines;109
6.2.1;5.2.1 Internal Combustion Engines (ICEs);109
6.2.2;5.2.2 Electrochemical Fuel-Cell Engines (FCEs);111
6.2.3;5.2.3 Steam Engines;116
7;Chapter 6: Coal and Nuclear Power Generation;117
7.1;6.1 Coal-Burning Power Plants;117
7.2;6.2 Nuclear Power Reactors;119
7.2.1;6.2.1 Basic Physics, Design, and Operation of a Reactor;122
7.2.2;6.2.2 Breeders and Mixed Fuel Reactors;129
7.2.3;6.2.3 Nuclear Reactors Versus Nuclear Bombs;133
7.3;6.3 The Uranium Fuel Cycle and Its Environmental Impact;135
7.3.1;6.3.1 Uranium Enrichment;139
7.3.2;6.3.2 Fuel Re-processing;142
7.3.3;6.3.3 Final Disposal of Radio-Waste;145
7.4;6.4 Nuclear Fusion;149
8;Chapter 7: Safety Considerations in Nuclear Operations;153
8.1;7.1 Nature of Nuclear Radiation;153
8.2;7.2 Biological Effects of Nuclear Radiation;155
8.3;7.3 Radiation Dose Measurements and Tolerable Exposures;160
8.4;7.4 Radiation Protection in Reactor Operations;164
8.5;7.5 Mishaps and Malfunctions in Reactor Operations;165
8.6;7.6 Nuclear Criticality Accidents;166
9;Chapter 8: Nuclear Weapon Controls and Non-proliferation;175
9.1;8.1 The Nuclear Age and World Realities;175
9.2;8.2 Safeguards Against Terrorists;180
9.3;8.3 The Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA);183
10;Chapter 9: Conclusions, Action Items, and Predictions;189
10.1;9.1 Synopsis;189
10.2;9.2 Action Items;194
10.2.1;9.2.1 Development of Synthetic Fuel (Synfuel) Manufacture, Storage, and Distribution;195
10.2.2;9.2.2 Portable Energy Storage Devices;198
10.2.3;9.2.3 Development of Advanced Automotive and Aircraft Engines;199
10.2.4;9.2.4 Breeder Reactor Development, Testing, Deployment, and Burner-to-Breeder Conversions;199
10.2.5;9.2.5 Reprocessing, Enrichment, and Fabrication of Reactor Fuels;201
10.2.6;9.2.6 Coal Usage Reassignment Programs;201
10.3;9.3 Anticipations;202
11;Abbreviations;206
11.1;Chemical Symbols of Selected Elements and Isotopes;208
11.2;International MKS Units & Prefixes;209
11.3;Atomic/Molecular Units;209
11.4;About the Author;210
11.5;Annotated Bibliography;213