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 cruisersUSS Bainbridge and USS Long Beach withUSS 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 2013, the IAEA report that there are 437 operational nuclear power reactors (although not all are producing electricity[2]),[3] in 31 countries.[4] More than 150 naval vessels using nuclear propulsion have been constructed.
There is an ongoing debate about the use of nuclear energy.[5][6][7] Proponents, such as the World Nuclear Association, the IAEA andEnvironmentalists 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),