Introduction of Nuclear Energy
In science, power and energy are distinct yet connected
terms. But in everyday usage, people have the tendency to use the
terms interchangeably or interchangeably. Scientifically, energy is
well defined as the ability or potential to perform work. For
example, when someone is lifting a block of weight from the ground
to a location above the ground level, he is performing work. It is a
question of changing energy from one form to another. Consider a
bricklayer: the work their body does in raising bricks is derived
from the chemical energy stored in food. That chemical energy is
transferred to kinetic energy, energy of motion, which causes their
muscles to move and raise the brick. All of this illustrates a
simple tenet of physics — energy is never destroyed or created, only
converted from one form into another. In a broader sense, energy is
one of the two basic building materials of the universe. The other
is matter, which is the physical material that makes up atoms and
therefore everything, from our bodies and buildings to stars and
galaxies. In nuclear reactions, these two basic materials are in
direct proportion. Nuclear energy is generated by transforming an
extremely small amount of matter into energy, a notion based on
Einstein's famous equation, E = mc². (Ferguson, 2011) Here in this
analogy, matter is taken as "frozen energy", which, when let out in
nuclear processes, becomes usable energy to be employed in
performing work. This takes us to law of conservation of energy and
matter, i.e., the total amount of matter and energy in the world is
always equal. The amount of energy and matter present while picking
up a brick is identical with that when the brick is picked up and
then the leftover. Although the form of energy may change in the
process (chemical to kinetic, for instance), the total remains the
same. Despite this scientific understanding, day-to-day language
uses colloquialisms like "producing" or "using" energy. Technically,
these are technically wrong because energy is only converted, never
produced or destroyed. These uses of words are
tolerated in general usage, however, as long as people understand
what actually goes on behind the scenes. Now, let's consider power,
the rate of energy transfer or transformation. Or, alternatively,
power tells us how quickly or slowly energy is being used. Power =
energy ÷ time, mathematically. Example: A 100-watt light bulb needs
a continuous input of 100 joules of energy per second to continue
shining. The joule is the unit of energy in physics. To give a more
practical example, physicist Richard Wolfson once demonstrated that
a person could power a 100-watt lightbulb by turning a hand crank
that was connected to a generator, but only after exerting
significant physical effort. Including everything from household
electricity to the energy used for government operations,
transportation, and food production, the average American uses about
10,000 watts of power every day.
- This daily consumption is about the same as the power of 100 people who use hand cranks all day long—whom Wolfson jokingly calls "energy servants." In comparison,
- the typical European uses roughly half as much power, thanks to variations in lifestyle, energy policy, and efficiency. (Ferguson, 2011)