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“Nuclear technology: pros and cons. Discuss”

Few words are as politically or emotionally charged as “nuclear technology”. Nuclear
technology is technology that involves the reactions of atomic nucleus. It has found
applications from smoke detectors to nuclear reactors, and from gun sights to nuclear
weapons. There is a great deal of public concern about its possible implications, and
every application of nuclear technology is reviewed with care.

The first atomic bomb was detonated in a test code-named "Trinity", near
Alamogordo on July 16, 1945. After much debate on the morality of using such a
horrifying weapon, two bombs were dropped on the Japanese cities Hiroshima and
Nagasaki, and the Japanese surrender followed shortly thereafter. Several nations
began nuclear weapons programs, developing ever more destructive bombs in an
arms race to obtain what many called a nuclear deterrent. Nuclear weapons are the
most destructive weapons known - the archetypal weapons of mass destruction.
Throughout the Cold War, the opposing powers had huge nuclear arsenals, sufficient
to kill hundreds of millions of people. Generations of people grew up under the
shadow of nuclear devastation.

However, the tremendous energy released in the detonation of a nuclear weapon also
suggested the possibility of a new energy source. Commercial nuclear power began in
the early 1950's in the US, UK, and Soviet Union. The first commercial reactors were
heavily based on either research reactors, or military reactors. Nuclear power is a type
of nuclear technology involving the controlled use of nuclear fission to release energy
for work including propulsion, heat, and the generation of electricity. Nuclear energy
is produced by a controlled nuclear chain reaction which creates heat—and which is
used to boil water, produce steam, and drive a steam turbine. The turbine can be used
for mechanical work and also to generate electricity. Currently nuclear power is used
to propel aircraft carriers, icebreakers and submarines; and provides approximately
16 % of the world's electricity (in 2007).

Moreover, in many ways nuclear technology is giving us cleaner energy day after
day. By using nuclear energy more than oil, we could minimize the effect of global
warming as well. In a general sense, by investing in nuclear technology we could
produce clean and low cost energy, a precious good for emerging countries such as
China and India. On the other hand nuclear technology produces many radioactive
wastes. A lot of experts are conducting several studies in order to find an appropriate
solutions for radioactive waste disposal. However, I think that nuclear energy, is the
best solution to the increasing worldwide energetic needs, and a simple common
worldwide policy could guarantee a better future to new generations.