tag:theconversation.com,2011:/id/topics/fission-17093/articlesFission – The Conversation2022-08-08T20:03:15Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1881492022-08-08T20:03:15Z2022-08-08T20:03:15ZUranium prices are soaring, and Australia’s hoary old nuclear debate is back in the headlines. Here’s what it all means<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/477586/original/file-20220804-23-gxlkvb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=6%2C15%2C2020%2C1327&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Uranium concentrate, known as yellowcake </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Nuclear Regulatory Commission/Flickr</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Last week, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton <a href="https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/peter-dutton-presses-button-on-the-nuclear-energy-debate/news-story/f0018e185a33c06175bbf3d773b3a69f">sought to revive</a> the hoary old debate of nuclear power in Australia, announcing an internal review into whether the Liberals should back the controversial technology. </p>
<p>Dutton said the review would examine whether nuclear technologies could help shore up Australia’s energy security and reduce power prices. His call comes as prices soar for uranium, which is vital to nuclear power and nuclear weapons.</p>
<p>Australia’s powerful <a href="https://www.minerals.org.au/minerals/uranium">mining lobby</a> has long pushed for Australia to both lift its nuclear ban and expand its uranium mining industry, to help provide apparently zero-emissions energy. </p>
<p>All this comes as Australia embarks on an ambitious maritime defence transition to nuclear-powered submarines. History suggests as the nuclear debate heats up in Australia, so will the pressure to expand our uranium exports. So where will all this lead? </p>
<h2>Uranium is back in vogue</h2>
<p>Australia has the world’s largest reserves of uranium and is the world’s fourth largest uranium exporter. Two uranium mines operate here – BHP’s Olympic Dam and Heathgate’s Beverley facility, both in South Australia. A third mine, Boss Energy’s Honeymoon project, is set to <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-06-01/production-to-recommence-at-honeymoon-uranium-mine/101116514">restart</a> production. </p>
<p>Russia’s war on Ukraine – and its willingness to shut off gas supplies to Europe – means uranium is in high demand. In March this year, refined uranium was A$86 a pound, up from A$27 a pound in late 2017. </p>
<p>As countries scramble to shore up energy security, some are turning to nuclear. Japan plans to reopen <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-07-14/japan-s-kishida-orders-restart-of-up-to-nine-nuclear-reactors">closed nuclear reactors</a>. France is planning new reactors to begin replacing its <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/18/business/france-nuclear-power-russia.html">ageing and troublesome</a> fleet of 56 reactors. Belgium has <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2022/04/15/nuclear-energy-europe-ukraine-war/">kept reactors</a> from closing while Poland is planning new ones. </p>
<p>This is triggering fresh uranium investment. That includes in Queensland’s sparsely populated northwest, where Australian and Canadian mining companies are acquiring <a href="https://www.nsspl.com.au/news/2446-consolidated-uranium-adds-more-qld-sites-to-portfolio.html">new mineral leases</a> and quietly adding uranium to their ore inventories.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/if-the-opposition-wants-a-mature-discussion-about-nuclear-energy-start-with-a-carbon-price-without-that-nuclear-is-wildly-uncompetitive-184471">If the opposition wants a mature discussion about nuclear energy, start with a carbon price. Without that, nuclear is wildly uncompetitive</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Australia is unusual in being a major uranium exporter while also <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_Departments/Parliamentary_Library/pubs/rp/rp2021/AustralianElectricityOptionsNuclear">explicitly ruling out</a> using nuclear power. Some nuclear proponents, such as the influential Minerals Council of Australia, are quick to point out this apparent contradiction. </p>
<p>The council is lobbying for an expansion of uranium exports. It <a href="https://www.minerals.org.au/minerals/uranium#:%7E:text=About%20the%20Minerals%20Council%20of%20Australia&text=Australia%20generated%20%24606%20million%20in,countries%20like%20China%20and%20Indiahttps://www.minerals.org.au/minerals/uranium">says</a> the existing industry is one of several factors making Australia “a partner of choice for private venture capital-funded new nuclear power”. </p>
<p>And Boss Energy managing director Duncan Craib said in May the opportunities to expand Australia’s uranium mining industry are “immense” and would help decarbonise our energy sector. He told the ABC:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Last year, we exported about 6,000 tonnes of uranium. That’s enough to provide for 75 per cent of Australia’s national energy market with zero emissions.</p>
</blockquote>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/477567/original/file-20220804-21-crz7lm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="yellowcake" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/477567/original/file-20220804-21-crz7lm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/477567/original/file-20220804-21-crz7lm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=480&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/477567/original/file-20220804-21-crz7lm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=480&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/477567/original/file-20220804-21-crz7lm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=480&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/477567/original/file-20220804-21-crz7lm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=603&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/477567/original/file-20220804-21-crz7lm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=603&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/477567/original/file-20220804-21-crz7lm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=603&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The US is looking at expanding its domestic uranium production. This 1975 image shows production of yellowcake uranium concentrate in the US.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Getty</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>A politically fraught topic</h2>
<p>The issues of uranium mining and nuclear energy surface regularly in Australia’s political debate.</p>
<p>Australia’s uranium industry flourished over the many years of the Menzies government. Menzies even sought to <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/2639906">possess nuclear weapons</a> in the 1950s. And one of his successors, John Gorton, pushed to build a <a href="https://pmtranscripts.pmc.gov.au/release/transcript-2068">major nuclear reactor</a> at the Jervis Bay Territory in the late 1960s.</p>
<p>The Whitlam government did not pursue the Jervis Bay plan. It initially supported uranium mining and even the possibility of domestic uranium enrichment, necessary to produce nuclear fuel. But as the Cold War heated up, the party became divided on its nuclear stance, due to concerns about weapons proliferation.</p>
<p>Bob Hawke <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.5263/labourhistory.102.0177">played a key role</a> in overcoming this anti-nuclear sentiment while as a union chief and then as Labor prime minister. By 1984, Labor <a href="https://www.academia.edu/download/31314399/McCausland_1999_PhD_Leave_it_in_the_ground.pdf">agreed</a> to accept more uranium mines and international customers if domestic reactors did not expand beyond the Lucas Heights research facility in Sydney. </p>
<p>As recently as last year, Labor’s election platform walked a similar line: no nuclear reactors or waste dumps, but yes to mining and selling uranium, with safeguards around inspection and non-proliferation. </p>
<p>In recent years, the Coalition’s strongest support for nuclear came in 2006 when then prime minister John Howard established a <a href="https://pmtranscripts.pmc.gov.au/release/transcript-22314">nuclear taskforce</a> to examine uranium mining and processing, and the feasibility of a domestic nuclear industry. The taskforce found it was possible to build a reactor in 10 to 15 years – assuming the public supported it and regulations were in place. </p>
<p>The Coalition did not pursue nuclear energy during its last nine years in government, despite Howard <a href="https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/election-2022-john-howard-stands-by-fossil-fuels-and-nuclear-energy/news-story/d7985d5e9b60b26116b93b27993b1fed">continuing to call</a> for more uranium mines and investigation of domestic nuclear energy. But since losing government, the Coalition has <a href="https://theconversation.com/word-from-the-hill-peter-dutton-puts-nuclear-power-on-oppositions-agenda-188076">warmed</a> to the technology.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/yes-australia-is-buying-a-fleet-of-nuclear-submarines-but-nuclear-powered-electricity-must-not-come-next-168110">Yes, Australia is buying a fleet of nuclear submarines. But nuclear-powered electricity must not come next</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/477565/original/file-20220804-11251-5kgi2y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="uranium mine" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/477565/original/file-20220804-11251-5kgi2y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/477565/original/file-20220804-11251-5kgi2y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=289&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/477565/original/file-20220804-11251-5kgi2y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=289&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/477565/original/file-20220804-11251-5kgi2y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=289&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/477565/original/file-20220804-11251-5kgi2y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=364&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/477565/original/file-20220804-11251-5kgi2y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=364&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/477565/original/file-20220804-11251-5kgi2y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=364&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Mary Kathleen uranium mine has been shut since 1982.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Where to now?</h2>
<p>So where does all this leave the prospect of nuclear power in Australia? And how likely is expansion of the uranium industry?</p>
<p>Some elements of Labor <a href="https://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/epc-lc/article/4349">support</a> nuclear energy. And Labor will be aware of US efforts to revive its own uranium mining industry.</p>
<p>The AUKUS deal struck under the Morrison government would see Australia acquire nuclear-powered but conventionally armed submarines. It raised the obvious <a href="https://www.aspistrategist.org.au/nuclear-submarines-could-lead-to-nuclear-power-for-australia/">question</a> of whether nuclear power would follow.</p>
<p>But before being elected, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese <a href="https://www.news.com.au/national/federal-election/election-2022-anthony-albanese-says-john-howard-is-wrong-about-australias-nuclear-future/news-story/535baf51f90a399dacd2394cc06642fd">said</a> Labor supported the AUKUS agreement only if it did not require a domestic civil nuclear industry. </p>
<p>Albanese is also a long-time opponent of uranium mining in Australia – as shown in 2006 when he opposed Labor’s decision to dump a policy that banned new uranium mines.</p>
<p>And while uranium prices may be surging, nuclear energy remains a risky economic prospect for Australia. Large reactors like the UK’s Hinkley C have struggled with <a href="https://theconversation.com/if-the-opposition-wants-a-mature-discussion-about-nuclear-energy-start-with-a-carbon-price-without-that-nuclear-is-wildly-uncompetitive-184471">enormous cost overruns</a> while the small modular reactors pitched as the future of nuclear power are <a href="https://www.energycouncil.com.au/analysis/small-nuclear-reactors-come-with-big-price-tag-report/#:%7E:text=In%202019%20the%20Rolls%20Royce,the%20end%20of%20the%20decade.">still expensive</a> and still far away. Meanwhile, <a href="https://www.csiro.au/en/news/news-releases/2022/gencost-2022">wind and solar</a> remain the cheapest new build option. </p>
<p>The Coalition may, after its internal review, decide to adopt nuclear energy as part of its 2025 federal election pitch. But for this term of government at least, those wanting progress on nuclear power or expanded uranium mining are likely to be left disappointed. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/uranium-what-the-explosion-in-prices-means-for-the-nuclear-industry-168442">Uranium: what the explosion in prices means for the nuclear industry</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/188149/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Erik Eklund does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>As the world’s energy crisis intensifies, there’s renewed interest in uranium and nuclear power.Erik Eklund, Professor of History, Australian National UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1568272021-05-17T12:25:25Z2021-05-17T12:25:25ZHow much energy can people create at one time without losing control?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/397959/original/file-20210429-15-16cifi2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C1%2C1198%2C944&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Fire a set of high-power lasers at a tiny speck of hydrogen isotopes and you can initiate nuclear fusion, the process that powers the Sun.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://lasers.llnl.gov/news/reports-recommend-stepped-up-u.s.-investment-in-fusion-energy">National Ignition Facility</a></span></figcaption></figure><figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=293&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=293&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=293&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=368&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=368&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=368&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/us/topics/curious-kids-us-74795">Curious Kids</a> is a series for children of all ages. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, send it to <a href="mailto:curiouskidsus@theconversation.com">curiouskidsus@theconversation.com</a>.</em></p>
<hr>
<blockquote>
<p><strong>How much energy can we create at one time without losing control? – Luis, age 9, Brookline, Massachusetts</strong></p>
</blockquote>
<hr>
<p>Above our heads there is a powerful energy source created by nature, the Sun. Because the Sun is 93 million miles from us, only one-billionth of <a href="https://web.extension.illinois.edu/world/energy.cfm">the Sun’s total energy output</a> reaches the Earth, creating a world blooming with life. The energy that the Sun gives the Earth’s surface every second is more than the total electricity generated from <a href="https://www.iea.org/data-and-statistics?country=WORLD&fuel=Energy%20supply&indicator=TPESbySource">all power plants in the world in the entire year of 2018</a>.</p>
<p>Here on Earth, humans power machines mostly by harvesting energy: for example, harvesting the energy of falling water and converting it to electricity in hydroelectric power plants. To create energy, you have to <a href="https://kids.britannica.com/students/article/energy/274180#200190-toc">convert matter to energy</a>. </p>
<h2>Chain reactions</h2>
<p>One way to do that is to split <a href="https://www.ducksters.com/science/the_atom.php">atoms</a>, the basic building blocks of all matter in the universe. Do so controllably and you can produce a steady flow of energy. Lose control and you release a lot of energy all at once in a nuclear explosion.</p>
<p>The core of every atom, the <a href="https://kids.kiddle.co/Atomic_nucleus">nucleus</a>, is made up of even smaller particles, protons and neutrons. The force holding the nucleus together stores a huge amount of energy. To obtain energy from the nucleus, scientists came up with a process of splitting a heavy atom into lighter atoms. Because the lighter atoms don’t need as much energy to hold the nucleus together as the heavy atoms, energy is released as heat or light. This process is called <a href="https://kids.kiddle.co/Nuclear_fission">nuclear fission</a>.</p>
<p>When one atom is split, a <a href="https://kids.kiddle.co/Nuclear_chain-reaction">chain reaction</a> starts: The split atom will trigger another atom to be split, and so on. To make the chain reaction controllable, scientists developed ways to slow down the splitting, such as absorbing some of the split particles. </p>
<h2>Nuclear power</h2>
<p>Nuclear power plants harvest the energy released by splitting atoms controllably. The world’s largest nuclear power plant is the <a href="https://www.power-technology.com/projects/kashiwazaki/">Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Station</a> in Japan. It consists of seven nuclear reactors, with a maximum capacity of about 8,000 megawatts. The world’s largest single nuclear reactor is a tie between the the two reactors at China’s <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-france-nuclear/china-launches-worlds-first-epr-nuclear-project-in-taishan-idUSKBN1OD0Y4">Taishan Nuclear Power Plant</a>. Each Taishan reactor has a capacity of 1,750 megawatts.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/397901/original/file-20210429-14-1vrkcqz.gif?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="diagram showing a nuclear reactor, turbine, generator and condenser, and electric power lines leading to a residential neighborhood" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/397901/original/file-20210429-14-1vrkcqz.gif?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/397901/original/file-20210429-14-1vrkcqz.gif?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=314&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397901/original/file-20210429-14-1vrkcqz.gif?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=314&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397901/original/file-20210429-14-1vrkcqz.gif?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=314&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397901/original/file-20210429-14-1vrkcqz.gif?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=394&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397901/original/file-20210429-14-1vrkcqz.gif?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=394&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397901/original/file-20210429-14-1vrkcqz.gif?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=394&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Nuclear power plants use nuclear reactions to heat water to produce steam that drives turbines that in turn drive generators that produce electricity.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://flickr.com/photos/nrcgov/32897176197/">Nuclear Regulatory Commission</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This amount of power is much smaller than uncontrolled nuclear reactions, such as atomic bombs. Nowadays, the energy output from detonating an atomic bomb is equivalent to the electricity the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant generates in half a year.</p>
<p>A downside of fission is <a href="https://kids.kiddle.co/Radioactive_waste">nuclear waste</a>. The split atoms are usually unstable and emit dangerous radiation. Nuclear waste needs to be stored properly for many years.</p>
<h2>Fusion near and far</h2>
<p>Scientists have also discovered another type of nuclear reaction, one that produces energy without nuclear waste. As two lighter atoms combine into a heavy atom, the lost mass converts into energy. This process is called <a href="https://kids.kiddle.co/Nuclear_fusion">nuclear fusion</a>. Fusion is happening in the core of the Sun. In every second, the Sun burns about <a href="https://www2.nau.edu/%7Egaud/bio301/content/sun/sun.htm">600 million tons of hydrogen into about 596 million tons of helium</a>, yielding <a href="http://archive.boston.com/news/science/articles/2005/09/05/how_much_energy_does_the_sun_produce/">energy equivalent to trillions of atomic bombs</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/397936/original/file-20210429-13-60a8zy.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A cutaway illustration of a massive metal structure with a cylindrical core surrounded by a hollow ring filled with blue light" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/397936/original/file-20210429-13-60a8zy.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/397936/original/file-20210429-13-60a8zy.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=641&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397936/original/file-20210429-13-60a8zy.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=641&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397936/original/file-20210429-13-60a8zy.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=641&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397936/original/file-20210429-13-60a8zy.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=806&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397936/original/file-20210429-13-60a8zy.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=806&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397936/original/file-20210429-13-60a8zy.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=806&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">This cutaway illustration shows what the core of a nuclear fusion reactor would look like.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.anl.gov/highenergy-physics-nuclear-physics-and-fusion-energy-science">Argonne National Laboratory</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>However, it is very difficult to achieve nuclear fusion on Earth. Fusion happens only at extreme conditions, such as the very high temperatures and pressure of the Sun. Scientists have yet to effectively demonstrate controllable nuclear fusion that produces more energy than it consumes, but <a href="https://www.iter.org/proj/inafewlines">they are working hard to do so</a>. One way is to <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/high-powered-lasers-deliver-fusion-energy-breakthrough/">shoot high-power lasers</a> from different directions at a tiny speck of <a href="https://www.energy.gov/science/doe-explainsisotopes">hydrogen isotopes</a>.</p>
<p>Nuclear fusion energy would be a promising energy solution in the future. But don’t forget, we have a huge nuclear fusion reactor above our heads, the Sun. With the improving efficiency of <a href="https://kids.britannica.com/kids/article/solar-energy/433607">solar energy</a>, we don’t even need to create energy, just capture more of what the Sun gives us every day.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>Hello, curious kids! Do you have a question you’d like an expert to answer? Ask an adult to send your question to <a href="mailto:curiouskidsus@theconversation.com">CuriousKidsUS@theconversation.com</a>. Please tell us your name, age and the city where you live.</em></p>
<p><em>And since curiosity has no age limit – adults, let us know what you’re wondering, too. We won’t be able to answer every question, but we will do our best.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/156827/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Xuejian Wu does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Scientists are working on ways to make lots of energy by converting matter into energy. The trick is keeping the process under control. One possibility is nuclear fusion – the Sun’s power source.Xuejian Wu, Assistant Professor of Physics, Rutgers University - NewarkLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1062202019-02-07T12:28:21Z2019-02-07T12:28:21ZLise Meitner – the forgotten woman of nuclear physics who deserved a Nobel Prize<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/257317/original/file-20190205-86205-ff9763.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=40%2C4%2C1556%2C1171&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Lise Meitner was left off the publication that eventually led to a Nobel Prize for her colleague.</span> </figcaption></figure><p><a href="http://www.atomicarchive.com/Fission/Fission1.shtml">Nuclear fission</a> – the physical process by which very large atoms like uranium split into pairs of smaller atoms – is what makes <a href="https://www.atomicheritage.org/history/science-behind-atom-bomb">nuclear bombs</a> and <a href="http://www.world-nuclear.org/information-library/current-and-future-generation/outline-history-of-nuclear-energy.aspx">nuclear power plants</a> possible. But for many years, physicists believed it energetically impossible for atoms as large as uranium (atomic mass = 235 or 238) to be split into two.</p>
<p>That all changed on Feb. 11, 1939, with a <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/143239a0">letter to the editor</a> of Nature – a premier international scientific journal – that described exactly how such a thing could occur and even named it fission. In that letter, physicist Lise Meitner, with the assistance of her young nephew <a href="http://www.atomicarchive.com/Bios/Frisch.shtml">Otto Frisch</a>, provided a physical explanation of how nuclear fission could happen.</p>
<p>It was a massive leap forward in nuclear physics, but today Lise Meitner remains obscure and largely forgotten. She was excluded from the victory celebration because she was a Jewish woman. Her story is a sad one.</p>
<h2>What happens when you split an atom</h2>
<p>Meitner based her fission argument on the “<a href="https://socratic.org/questions/how-does-the-liquid-drop-model-account-for-nuclear-fission">liquid droplet model</a>” of nuclear structure – a model that likened the forces that hold the atomic nucleus together to the surface tension that gives a water droplet its structure.</p>
<p>She noted that the surface tension of an atomic nucleus weakens as the charge of the nucleus increases, and could even approach zero tension if the nuclear charge was very high, as is the case for uranium (charge = 92+). The lack of sufficient nuclear surface tension would then allow the nucleus to split into two fragments when struck by a <a href="https://sciencenotes.org/neutron-definition-chemistry/">neutron</a> – a chargeless subatomic particle – with each fragment carrying away very high levels of kinetic energy. Meisner remarked: “The whole ‘fission’ process can thus be described in an essentially classical [physics] way.” Just that simple, right?</p>
<p>Meitner went further to explain how her scientific colleagues had gotten it wrong. When scientists bombarded uranium with neutrons, they believed the uranium nucleus, rather than splitting, captured some neutrons. These captured neutrons were then converted into positively charged protons and thus transformed the uranium into the incrementally larger elements on the <a href="https://www.livescience.com/25300-periodic-table.html">periodic table of elements</a> – the so-called “<a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/transuranium-element">transuranium</a>,” or beyond uranium, elements.</p>
<p>Some people were skeptical that neutron bombardment could produce transuranium elements, including <a href="https://www.atomicheritage.org/profile/irene-joliot-curie">Irene Joliot-Curie</a> – Marie Curie’s daughter – and Meitner. Joliot-Curie had found that one of these new alleged transuranium elements actually behaved chemically just like <a href="https://www.livescience.com/39623-facts-about-radium.html">radium</a>, the element her mother had discovered. Joliot-Curie suggested that it might be just radium (atomic mass = 226) – an element somewhat smaller than uranium – that was coming from the neutron-bombarded uranium.</p>
<p>Meitner had an alternative explanation. She thought that, rather than radium, the element in question might actually be <a href="https://www.livescience.com/37581-barium.html">barium</a> – an element with a chemistry very similar to radium. The issue of radium versus barium was very important to Meitner because barium (atomic mass = 139) was a possible fission product according to her split uranium theory, but radium was not – it was too big (atomic mass = 226).</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/257322/original/file-20190205-86198-76178y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/257322/original/file-20190205-86198-76178y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/257322/original/file-20190205-86198-76178y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=366&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/257322/original/file-20190205-86198-76178y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=366&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/257322/original/file-20190205-86198-76178y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=366&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/257322/original/file-20190205-86198-76178y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=460&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/257322/original/file-20190205-86198-76178y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=460&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/257322/original/file-20190205-86198-76178y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=460&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">When a neutron bombards a uranium atom, the uranium nucleus splits into two different smaller nuclei.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kernspaltung.svg">Stefan-Xp/Wikimedia Commons</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Meitner urged her chemist colleague <a href="https://www.atomicheritage.org/profile/otto-hahn">Otto Hahn</a> to try to further purify the uranium bombardment samples and assess whether they were, in fact, made up of radium or its chemical cousin barium. Hahn complied, and he found that Meitner was correct: the element in the sample was indeed barium, not radium. Hahn’s finding suggested that the uranium nucleus had split into pieces – becoming two different elements with smaller nuclei – just as Meitner had suspected.</p>
<h2>As a Jewish woman, Meitner was left behind</h2>
<p>Meitner should have been the hero of the day, and the physicists and chemists should have jointly published their findings and waited to receive the world’s accolades for their discovery of nuclear fission. But unfortunately, that’s not what happened.</p>
<p>Meitner had two difficulties: She was a Jew living as an exile in Sweden because of the Jewish persecution going on in Nazi Germany, and she was a woman. She might have overcome either one of these obstacles to scientific success, but both proved insurmountable.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/257308/original/file-20190205-86195-ggd0rl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/257308/original/file-20190205-86195-ggd0rl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/257308/original/file-20190205-86195-ggd0rl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=793&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/257308/original/file-20190205-86195-ggd0rl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=793&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/257308/original/file-20190205-86195-ggd0rl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=793&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/257308/original/file-20190205-86195-ggd0rl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=996&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/257308/original/file-20190205-86195-ggd0rl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=996&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/257308/original/file-20190205-86195-ggd0rl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=996&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Lise Meitner and Otto Hahn in Berlin, 1913.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Meitner had been working as Hahn’s academic equal when they were on the faculty of the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute in Berlin together. By all accounts they were close colleagues and friends for many years. When the Nazis took over, however, Meitner was forced to leave Germany. She took a position in Stockholm, and continued to work on nuclear issues with Hahn and his junior colleague Fritz Strassmann through regular correspondence. This working relationship, though not ideal, was still highly productive. The barium discovery was the latest fruit of that collaboration. </p>
<p>Yet when it came time to publish, Hahn knew that including a Jewish woman on the paper would cost him his career in Germany. So he <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01488241">published without her</a>, falsely claiming that the discovery was based solely on insights gleaned from his own chemical purification work, and that any physical insight contributed by Meitner played an insignificant role. All this despite the fact he wouldn’t have even thought to isolate barium from his samples had Meitner not directed him to do so.</p>
<p>Hahn had trouble explaining his own findings, though. In his paper, he put forth no plausible mechanism as to how uranium atoms had split into barium atoms. But Meitner had the explanation. So a few weeks later, Meitner wrote her famous fission letter to the editor, ironically explaining the mechanism of “Hahn’s discovery.”</p>
<p>Even that didn’t help her situation. The Nobel Committee awarded the <a href="https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/chemistry/1944/summary/">1944 Nobel Prize in Chemistry</a> “for the discovery of the fission of heavy nuclei” to Hahn alone. Paradoxically, the word “fission” never appeared in Hahn’s original publication, as Meitner had been the first to coin the term in the letter published afterward. </p>
<p>A controversy has raged about the discovery of nuclear fission ever since, with <a href="https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520208605/lise-meitner">critics claiming</a> it represents one of the worst examples of blatant racism and sexism by the Nobel committee. Unlike another prominent female nuclear physicist whose career preceded her – <a href="https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/chemistry/1911/marie-curie/facts/">Marie Curie</a> – Meitner’s contributions to nuclear physics were never recognized by the Nobel committee. She has been totally left out in the cold, and remains unknown to most of the public.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/257320/original/file-20190205-86198-1nmuux6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/257320/original/file-20190205-86198-1nmuux6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/257320/original/file-20190205-86198-1nmuux6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=446&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/257320/original/file-20190205-86198-1nmuux6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=446&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/257320/original/file-20190205-86198-1nmuux6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=446&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/257320/original/file-20190205-86198-1nmuux6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=561&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/257320/original/file-20190205-86198-1nmuux6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=561&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/257320/original/file-20190205-86198-1nmuux6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=561&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Meitner received the Enrico Fermi Award in 1966. Her nephew Otto Frisch is on the left.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/iaea_imagebank/4311592724">IAEA</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>After the war, Meitner remained in Stockholm and became a Swedish citizen. Later in life, she decided to let bygones be bygones. She reconnected with Hahn, and the two octogenarians resumed their friendship. Although the Nobel committee never acknowledged its mistake, the slight to Meitner was partly mitigated in 1966 when the U.S. Department of Energy jointly awarded her, Hahn and Strassmann its prestigious <a href="https://science.energy.gov/fermi/">Enrico Fermi Award</a> “for pioneering research in the naturally occurring radioactivities and extensive experimental studies leading to the discovery of fission.” The two-decade late recognition came just in time for Meitner. She and Hahn died within months of each other in 1968; they were both 89 years old.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/106220/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Timothy J. Jorgensen does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Left off publications due to Nazi prejudice, this Jewish woman lost her rightful place in the scientific pantheon as the discoverer of nuclear fission.Timothy J. Jorgensen, Director of the Health Physics and Radiation Protection Graduate Program and Associate Professor of Radiation Medicine, Georgetown UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/947952018-06-08T10:52:24Z2018-06-08T10:52:24ZThe nuclear industry is making a big bet on small power plants<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/222045/original/file-20180606-137322-1jdd1qw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">NuScale Power aims to build the nation's first advanced small modular reactor.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.energy.gov/ne/nuclear-reactor-technologies/small-modular-nuclear-reactors">U.S. Department of Energy</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Until now, generating nuclear power has required massive facilities surrounded by acres of buildings, electrical infrastructure, roads, parking lots and more. The nuclear industry is trying to change that picture – by going small.</p>
<p>Efforts to build the nation’s first “advanced small modular reactor,” or SMR, <a href="https://www.nextbigfuture.com/2018/04/nuscale-small-modular-nuclear-reactor-first-ever-to-complete-nrc-phase-1-review.html">in Idaho</a>, are on track for it to become operational by the mid-2020s. The project took a crucial step forward when the company behind it, NuScale, secured an <a href="http://newsroom.nuscalepower.com/press-release/company/nuscale-powers-small-modular-nuclear-reactor-becomes-first-ever-complete-nucle">important security certification</a> from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. </p>
<p>But the first ones could be generating power <a href="https://www.iaea.org/newscenter/pressreleases/iaea-expands-international-cooperation-on-small-medium-sized-or-modular-nuclear-reactors">by 2020 in China, Argentina and Russia</a>, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency. </p>
<p>The debate continues over whether this technology is worth pursuing, but the <a href="http://smrstart.org/">nuclear industry</a> isn’t waiting for a verdict. Nor, as an <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=dCRySjIAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">energy scholar</a>, do I think it should. This new generation of smaller and more technologically advanced reactors offer many advantages, including an assembly-line approach to production, vastly reduced meltdown risks and greater flexibility in terms of where they can be located, among others. </p>
<h2>How small is small?</h2>
<p>Most small modular reactors <a href="http://www.world-nuclear.org/information-library/nuclear-fuel-cycle/nuclear-power-reactors/small-nuclear-power-reactors.aspx">now in the works</a> range between 50 megawatts – roughly enough power for 60,000 <a href="http://shrinkthatfootprint.com/average-household-electricity-consumption">modern U.S. homes</a> – and 200 megawatts. And there are designs for even smaller “mini” or “micro-reactors” that generate <a href="https://www.nextbigfuture.com/2017/03/4-megawatt-modular-micro-nuclear.html">as few as 4 megawatts</a>.</p>
<p>In contrast, full-sized nuclear reactors built today will generate about 1,000-1,600 megawatts of electricity, although many built before 1990, including over half the <a href="https://www.eia.gov/tools/faqs/faq.php?id=104&t=3">99 reactors now operating in the U.S.</a>, are smaller than this. </p>
<p>But small nuclear reactors aren’t actually new. India has the most, with 18 <a href="http://www.world-nuclear.org/information-library/country-profiles/countries-g-n/india.aspx">reactors with capacity ranging between 90 and 220 megawatts</a>, which were built between 1981 and 2011.</p>
<p>The U.S., Russia, China, India, France and the U.K. operate <a href="http://www.world-nuclear.org/information-library/non-power-nuclear-applications/transport/nuclear-powered-ships.aspx">hundreds of nuclear submarines</a> and aircraft carriers. Russia has dozens of nuclear-powered icebreakers cruising around the Arctic, and its first <a href="https://gizmodo.com/russias-floating-nuclear-power-plant-has-hit-the-sea-1825650002%22%22">floating nuclear power plant</a> has been completed and will be deployed in 2019 near the town of Pevek in East Siberia. </p>
<p>The Siberian plant will replace <a href="https://insp.pnnl.gov/-profiles-bilibino-bi.htm">four 12-megawatt reactors the Soviets built in the 1970s</a> to power a remote town and administrative center, as well as mining and oil drilling operations.</p>
<p>Even though the reactors will be small, they may operate at much bigger power plants with multiple reactors. NuScale, for example, wants to install 12 reactors at its initial Idaho site. Based on the company’s latest projections, it will have a <a href="http://newsroom.nuscalepower.com/press-release/company/breakthrough-nuscale-power-increase-its-smr-output-delivers-customers-20-perce">total capacity of 720 megawatts</a>.</p>
<h2>A global trend</h2>
<p>Private and state-owned companies are seeking to build these small power plants in about <a href="http://www.world-nuclear.org/information-library/nuclear-fuel-cycle/nuclear-power-reactors/small-nuclear-power-reactors.aspx">a dozen countries</a> so far, including the U.S. and <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-britain-nuclear-smr/nuclear-developers-have-big-plans-for-pint-sized-power-plants-in-uk-idUSKCN10X1FC">the U.K.</a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/france-nuclearpower-smr/france-considers-developing-mini-nuclear-reactors-eyes-cost-idUSL8N1QX6WS">France</a>, which gets three-quarters of its electricity from <a href="http://www.world-nuclear.org/information-library/country-profiles/countries-a-f/france.aspx">nuclear energy</a>, and <a href="https://theconversation.com/small-nuclear-power-reactors-future-or-folly-81252">Canada</a> may soon join the fray.</p>
<p>This global interest in small modular reactors comes as <a href="http://www.world-nuclear.org/information-library/nuclear-fuel-cycle/nuclear-wastes/decommissioning-nuclear-facilities.aspx">more standard nuclear reactors are being decommissioned</a> than <a href="http://www.world-nuclear.org/information-library/current-and-future-generation/plans-for-new-reactors-worldwide.aspx">are under construction</a>. </p>
<h2>Some advantages</h2>
<p>Proponents of these advanced small modular reactors say they will be <a href="http://www.nuscalepower.com/why-smr">easier to build and more flexible in terms of where they can be located</a> than the larger kind. The word “modular” refers to how they will be built in factory-like settings, ready for hauling either fully assembled or in easily connected parts by truck, rail or sea. </p>
<p>These reactors can potentially power rural towns, industrial plants, mountainous areas and military bases, as well as urban districts and ports. Small modular reactors may also prove handy for industrial uses.</p>
<p>Small modular reactors will differ from the smaller reactors already deployed because of their new technologies. These advances are intended to make it less likely or even <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamesconca/2018/01/24/can-we-make-a-nuclear-reactor-that-wont-melt-down/#3a5ccf195b7e">impossible for them to melt down or explode</a>, as happened during <a href="http://www.world-nuclear.org/information-library/safety-and-security/safety-of-plants/fukushima-accident.aspx">Japan’s Fukushima disaster</a>.</p>
<p>The power plants where these small reactors will be located will have added protections against sabotage and the theft of radioactive material. For example, they may be equipped with <a href="http://www.nuscalepower.com/smr-benefits/safe">cooling systems that continue working</a> even if no operators are present and all electric power is lost. In many cases, the entire reactor and steam-generating equipment will be below ground to safeguard these facilities during natural disasters like the earthquake and tsunamis that led three Fukushima Daiichi reactors to melt down. </p>
<p>Like renewable energy, nuclear power emits no carbon. And compared to wind and solar power, which are intermittent sources, or hydropower, which is affected by seasonal changes and droughts, it operates all the time and has a much smaller footprint.</p>
<p>As a result, small modular reactors could be <a href="https://inis.iaea.org/search/search.aspx?orig_q=RN:43012344">paired with renewable sources</a> as a substitute for coal-fired or natural gas plants. Yet they will probably have to compete with advanced <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-energy-storage-is-starting-to-rewire-the-electricity-industry-93259">energy storage systems</a> for that market. </p>
<h2>Concerns and costs</h2>
<p>Whether these advantages materialize, obviously, remains to be seen once these reactors are deployed. <a href="https://www.ucsusa.org/got-science-podcast/ed-lyman#.Wxk8-kgvxPY">Some experts are skeptical</a> of the industry’s promises and expectations.</p>
<p>Although small modular reactors are designed to produce <a href="https://www.aps.org/units/fps/newsletters/201701/reactors.cfm">less radioactive waste</a> than standard, bigger reactors for the same amount of power, the issue of where to <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-federal-government-has-long-treated-nevada-as-a-dumping-ground-and-its-not-just-yucca-mountain-96700">safely dispose of nuclear waste</a> remains unresolved. </p>
<p>Small modular reactors face other challenges, some of their own making.</p>
<p>Strong interest in the potential global market has led many companies to propose their own individual reactor designs. In my opinion, there are already too many versions out there. Before long, a shakeout will occur.</p>
<p>And, especially in the U.S., there is currently no clarity regarding the length of time required for licensing new reactor designs lacking any commercial track record – creating a lot of <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/rodadams/2017/01/09/nrc-vision-and-strategy-for-licensing-advanced-reactors-needs-improvement/#793becf81bcb">regulatory uncertainty</a>.</p>
<p>It’s also unclear what small modular reactor-generated power will cost. That will probably remain the case for at least the next 10 to 15 years, until a few designs are actually built and operating.</p>
<p>Some experts foresee small modular reactors penciling out at levels that could be <a href="https://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/interest-in-small-modular-nuclear-grows#gs.3ln6s0E">higher than for full-sized reactors</a> which generally <a href="https://www.eia.gov/outlooks/aeo/pdf/electricity_generation.pdf">cost more to build</a> and <a href="https://www.eia.gov/electricity/annual/html/epa_08_04.html">operate</a> than other options, like natural gas, for the same amount of power. NuScale, however, predicts that its SMRs will be <a href="http://www.powermag.com/nuscale-boosts-smr-capacity-making-it-cost-competitive-with-other-technologies/">more competitive</a> than that in terms of their cost.</p>
<p>And some observers fear that reactor owners might <a href="https://www.ucsusa.org/sites/default/files/legacy/assets/documents/nuclear_power/small-isnt-always-beautiful.pdf">cut corners</a> to reduce costs, compromising safety or security.</p>
<p>Although their costs are unclear and their advantages relative to other energy choices remain unproven, I believe these small reactors, as non-carbon sources, are needed to help resolve the energy challenges of our time. And the rest of the world seems ready to give them a try with or without the U.S.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/94795/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Scott L. Montgomery does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Advanced small modular reactors, known as SMRs, will probably have many advantages over older technology. But it’s not yet known how they will stack up against other sources of electricity.Scott L. Montgomery, Lecturer, Jackson School of International Studies, University of WashingtonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/971062018-05-29T15:14:50Z2018-05-29T15:14:50ZYes, giant predatory worms really are invading France<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/221020/original/file-20180530-120505-l92v81.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C4%2C1488%2C999&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The "hammerhead" of _Diversibipalium multilineatum_. This species can reach 40 centimeters (16 inches) in length.
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Pierre Gros</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>One of the consequences of globalisation and increased international trade in goods is the introduction of invasive species. In France, we have seen recently the arrival and proliferation of the <a href="http://theconversation.com/the-city-loving-devil-bug-lands-in-paris-and-continues-its-march-around-the-world-94145">“devil bug”</a>, the <a href="https://theconversation.com/le-frelon-asiatique-est-entre-dans-paris-62746">Asian hornet</a> and the <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/france/3229344/Paris-battles-invasion-of-Siberian-chipmunk.html">Siberian chipmunk</a>, as well as land flatworms such as <em><a href="https://peerj.com/articles/1037/">Platydemus manokwari</a></em> (from New Guinea) and <a href="https://theconversation.com/en-direct-des-especes-avez-vous-vu-obama-dans-votre-jardin-74030"><em>Obama nungara</em></a> (from South America).</p>
<p>These flatworms, which move from continent to continent as plants and soil are transported, are generally of modest size, about 5 cm long – they can be held in the hand, although it is a bad idea to touch them. Among them, however, is a group of “giant” species, all of which have a “hammerhead”: the bipaliines, belonging to the genera <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bipalium"><em>Bipalium</em></a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diversibipalium"><em>Diversibipalium</em></a>. The largest can reach 1 metre in length, and are mostly from Asia.</p>
<h2>40 centimetres long</h2>
<p>Our research team has just <a href="https://peerj.com/articles/4672/">published the results</a> of five years of work with the help of citizen scientists, who sent us photographs and also specimens. More than 700 reports of land flatworms were received, of which more than 100 were bipaliines. Two of the species present in France, and sometimes very abundant, can reach 40 cm (16 inches) long. Think about this before you continue: if you’re reading this article on your laptop, 40 cm is easily longer than your screen is wide.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/220741/original/file-20180529-80623-18tcv47.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C13%2C1500%2C940&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/220741/original/file-20180529-80623-18tcv47.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=383&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/220741/original/file-20180529-80623-18tcv47.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=383&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/220741/original/file-20180529-80623-18tcv47.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=383&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/220741/original/file-20180529-80623-18tcv47.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=481&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/220741/original/file-20180529-80623-18tcv47.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=481&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/220741/original/file-20180529-80623-18tcv47.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=481&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A giant flatworm <em>Bipalium kewense</em>, prepares to kill and eat an earthworm.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Pierre Gros</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Land flatworms consume soil fauna and pose a threat to soil biodiversity and ecological balance. Species of <em>Bipalium</em> feed on earthworms, and are able to kill and eat prey much larger than themselves. To do so, the <em>Bipalium</em> have a chemical armament including <a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0100718">tetrodotoxin</a>, one of the most powerful neurotoxins in the world, a thousand times more so than cyanide. Tetrodotoxin is the weapon of choice of the <em>fugu</em>, the poisonous fish beloved in Japan and eaten <em>very</em> carefully.</p>
<p>While our survey of land flatworms was originally intended only for mainland France, we received reports from the French overseas territories of Guadeloupe, Martinique, Saint Martin, Saint Barthélemy, French Guiana, Réunion, Mayotte and Polynesia, as well as from countries such as Switzerland, Monaco and Portugal. Unexpectedly, some of the citizens’ testimonials date back 20 years, as volunteers sent us older photographs and even videos from as far back to 1999.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/218684/original/file-20180513-34015-1nh5w5z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/218684/original/file-20180513-34015-1nh5w5z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=375&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/218684/original/file-20180513-34015-1nh5w5z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=375&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/218684/original/file-20180513-34015-1nh5w5z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=375&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/218684/original/file-20180513-34015-1nh5w5z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=471&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/218684/original/file-20180513-34015-1nh5w5z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=471&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/218684/original/file-20180513-34015-1nh5w5z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=471&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Pictures of worms sent by citizen scientists.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Jean-Lou Justine</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In France, the two dominant species are <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bipalium_kewense"><em>Bipalium kewense</em></a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diversibipalium_multilineatum"><em>Diversibipalium multilineatum</em></a>, which can reach 40 cm in length. Curiously, <em>Bipalium kewense</em> was also found in Guadeloupe, Martinique and French Guiana. A relatively small species, <em>Bipalium vagum</em>, has been found in several islands of the West Indies, French Guiana and Reunion, but not in metropolitan France. An unknown species, “black” <em>Diversibipalium</em>, was found in France, in a single location. A probably new species, “blue” <em>Diversibipalium</em>, was found only in Mayotte; this species is particularly spectacular with its iridescent turquoise colour.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/218686/original/file-20180513-5968-1mggsk2.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/218686/original/file-20180513-5968-1mggsk2.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=601&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/218686/original/file-20180513-5968-1mggsk2.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=601&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/218686/original/file-20180513-5968-1mggsk2.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=601&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/218686/original/file-20180513-5968-1mggsk2.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=755&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/218686/original/file-20180513-5968-1mggsk2.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=755&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/218686/original/file-20180513-5968-1mggsk2.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=755&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">‘Blue’ <em>Diversibipalium</em>, found only in Mayotte.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Laurent Charles</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The Pyrénées-Atlantiques, a small paradise for giant worms…</h2>
<p>In France itself, most of the bipaliines were found in the south, but very curiously, almost half of the reports come from a single department: the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyr%C3%A9n%C3%A9es-Atlantiques">Pyrénées-Atlantiques</a>, especially in the coastal area between Bayonne and the Spanish border. Land flatworms, which come from the semitropical regions of Asia, have two enemies: cold in winter and drought in summer. It seems that the Pyrénées-Atlantiques, with their mild winters and never-quite-dry summers, are a little paradise for them.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/218748/original/file-20180514-178757-xc96yg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/218748/original/file-20180514-178757-xc96yg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=492&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/218748/original/file-20180514-178757-xc96yg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=492&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/218748/original/file-20180514-178757-xc96yg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=492&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/218748/original/file-20180514-178757-xc96yg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=618&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/218748/original/file-20180514-178757-xc96yg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=618&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/218748/original/file-20180514-178757-xc96yg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=618&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Reports of bipaliines in mainland France, obtained thanks to citizen scientists.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Jessica Thévenot</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Our <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DNA_barcoding">molecular studies</a> show that species found in several localities around the world are perfectly homogeneous from a genetic point of view, even when the specimens come from several continents. These species do not practice sexual reproduction and each individual is therefore a clone of its parent: a small piece detaches from the posterior part of the animal and turns into an adult, a phenomenon called <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fission_(biology)">fission</a>. Asexual reproduction is a way for an alien species to quickly invade a territory. It also means that every worm is, in a sense, potentially immortal.</p>
<h2>Scientists should be concerned</h2>
<p>When we started working on this initiative in 2013, we did what every scientist does at the beginning of a new project – we looked for articles written by other scientists on the subject. To our astonishment, we found almost nothing on this subject in France, even though the invasion began more than 20 years ago. It seems paradoxical that the invasion of Europe by spectacular and highly visible animals that are also potentially dangerous for biodiversity had not attracted the attention of any scientist or institution up to now.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/218685/original/file-20180513-5968-vml2e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/218685/original/file-20180513-5968-vml2e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=377&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/218685/original/file-20180513-5968-vml2e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=377&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/218685/original/file-20180513-5968-vml2e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=377&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/218685/original/file-20180513-5968-vml2e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=474&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/218685/original/file-20180513-5968-vml2e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=474&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/218685/original/file-20180513-5968-vml2e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=474&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"><em>Bipalium vagum</em>, present in most French territories in the tropics, photographed here in French Guiana.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Sébastien Sant</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Citizens sometimes told us about their having brought specimens to research centres or universities only to have their fanciful identifications dismissed out of hand (“These are nothing but leeches, not interesting at all”). It is clear that efforts need to be made to better educate not only the public, but also scholars about the land flatworms. That said, those who couldn’t identify them 20 years ago had an excuse – they weren’t there.</p>
<p>The results of our study have been <a href="https://peerj.com/articles/4672/">published in English</a>, as is the general practice in science these days. To inform the public in France and its overseas territories, we have also written a <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.7717/peerj.4672/supp-3">full version in French</a> of our article on the bipaliines, as we did, <a href="https://peerj.com/articles/297/">in 2013</a>, for the arrival of <em>Platydemus manokwari</em>. Now, no more excuses!</p>
<h2>Across the Channel</h2>
<p>And what of France’s European neighbour, the United Kingdom? Has it been spared from such invaders? Well, yes… and no. There are not yet any reports of the giant <em>Bipalium</em> or <em>Diversibipalium</em> flatworms in British gardens, the weather likely being too cold for these semitropical animals. But one species features a scientific name with a very English origin, <em>Bipalium kewense</em> – in Latin it means “from Kew”, because it was <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080%2F00222937808682324">described in 1878</a> from specimens found in a hothouse of the Kew botanical gardens, near London. So there are giant flatworms present, but probably only in the hothouses. Other invasive flatworms have made the UK their home, however, including the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Zealand_flatworm">New Zealand flatworm</a>, <em>Arthurdendyus triangulatus</em>, which has decimated native earthworms since the 1980s. Adding insult to injury, the British Isles are the <em>only</em> place in Europe where this highly destructive species is established.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>This article is published in collaboration with researchers from the ISYEB (Institut de Systématique, Évolution, Biodiversité, Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, Sorbonne Universités). Each month, they publish an article describing new species and cataloguing living organisms.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/97106/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jean-Lou Justine received grants from the Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris. He is one of the Academic Editors of PeerJ (<a href="https://peerj.com/">https://peerj.com/</a>), the scientific journal in which several of the studies cited here were published.</span></em></p>Several giant terrestrial Plathelminth species have invaded France and its overseas territories, threatening biodiversity. Thanks to participatory science, the invasion is finally recognized.Jean-Lou Justine, Professeur de parasitologie, Muséum national d’histoire naturelle (MNHN)Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/871542017-11-30T18:07:28Z2017-11-30T18:07:28ZAtomic age began 75 years ago with the first controlled nuclear chain reaction<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/197029/original/file-20171129-12027-8o9l1v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=67%2C323%2C2806%2C1980&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">For the first time, human beings harnessed the power of atomic fission.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Atomic_Man_-_panoramio.jpg">Keith Ruffles</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Over Christmas vacation in 1938, physicists <a href="https://www.atomicheritage.org/profile/lise-meitner">Lise Meitner</a> and <a href="https://www.atomicheritage.org/profile/otto-frisch">Otto Frisch</a> received puzzling scientific news in a private letter from nuclear chemist <a href="https://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/chemistry/laureates/1944/">Otto Hahn</a>. When bombarding uranium with neutrons, Hahn had made some surprising observations that went against everything known at the time about the dense cores of atoms – their nuclei. </p>
<p>Meitner and Frisch were able to provide an explanation for what he saw that would revolutionize the field of nuclear physics: A uranium nucleus could split in half – or fission, as they called it – producing two new nuclei, called fission fragments. More importantly, this fission process releases huge amounts of energy. This finding at the dawn of World War II was the start of a scientific and military race to understand and use this new atomic source of power.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/197022/original/file-20171129-12040-1t8vjvu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/197022/original/file-20171129-12040-1t8vjvu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/197022/original/file-20171129-12040-1t8vjvu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=458&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/197022/original/file-20171129-12040-1t8vjvu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=458&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/197022/original/file-20171129-12040-1t8vjvu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=458&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/197022/original/file-20171129-12040-1t8vjvu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=576&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/197022/original/file-20171129-12040-1t8vjvu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=576&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/197022/original/file-20171129-12040-1t8vjvu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=576&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Leo Szilard lectures on the fission process.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/argonne/9623642054">Argonne National Laboratory</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">CC BY-NC-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/143239a0">release of these findings</a> to the academic community immediately inspired many nuclear scientists to investigate the nuclear fission process further. Physicist <a href="https://www.atomicheritage.org/profile/leo-szilard">Leo Szilard</a> made an important realization: if fission emits neutrons, and neutrons can induce fission, then neutrons from the fission of one nucleus could cause the fission of another nucleus. It could all cascade in a self-sustained “chain” process.</p>
<p>Thus began the quest to experimentally prove that a nuclear chain reaction was possible – and 75 years ago, researchers at the University of Chicago succeeded, opening the door to what would become the nuclear era.</p>
<h2>Harnessing fission</h2>
<p>As part of the <a href="https://www.energy.gov/management/office-management/operational-management/history/manhattan-project">Manhattan Project</a> effort to build an atomic bomb during World War II, Szilard worked together with <a href="https://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/1938/">physicist Enrico Fermi</a> and other colleagues at the University of Chicago to create the world’s first experimental nuclear reactor.</p>
<p>For a sustained, controlled chain reaction, each fission must induce just one additional fission. Any more, and there’d be an explosion. Any fewer and the reaction would peter out.</p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/197023/original/file-20171129-12032-3odmpf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/197023/original/file-20171129-12032-3odmpf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/197023/original/file-20171129-12032-3odmpf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=776&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/197023/original/file-20171129-12032-3odmpf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=776&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/197023/original/file-20171129-12032-3odmpf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=776&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/197023/original/file-20171129-12032-3odmpf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=976&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/197023/original/file-20171129-12032-3odmpf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=976&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/197023/original/file-20171129-12032-3odmpf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=976&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Nobel Prize winner Enrico Fermi led the project.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/argonne/5039457612">Argonne National Laboratory</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">CC BY-NC-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In earlier studies, Fermi had found that uranium nuclei would absorb neutrons more easily if the neutrons were moving relatively slowly. But neutrons emitted from the fission of uranium are fast. So for the Chicago experiment, the physicists used graphite to slow down the emitted neutrons, via multiple scattering processes. The idea was to increase the neutrons’ chances of being absorbed by another uranium nucleus.</p>
<p>To make sure they could safely control the chain reaction, the team rigged together what they called “control rods.” These were simply sheets of the element cadmium, an excellent neutron absorber. The physicists interspersed control rods through the uranium-graphite pile. At every step of the process Fermi calculated the expected neutron emission, and slowly removed a control rod to confirm his expectations. As a safety mechanism, the cadmium control rods could quickly be inserted if something started going wrong, to shut down the chain reaction.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/197026/original/file-20171129-12059-orq2um.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/197026/original/file-20171129-12059-orq2um.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/197026/original/file-20171129-12059-orq2um.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=297&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/197026/original/file-20171129-12059-orq2um.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=297&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/197026/original/file-20171129-12059-orq2um.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=297&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/197026/original/file-20171129-12059-orq2um.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=373&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/197026/original/file-20171129-12059-orq2um.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=373&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/197026/original/file-20171129-12059-orq2um.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=373&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Chicago Pile 1, erected in 1942 in the stands of an athletic field at the University of Chicago.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/argonne/12371772445">Argonne National Laboratory</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">CC BY-NC-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>They called this <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_Pile-1">20x6x25-foot setup</a> <a href="https://www.uchicago.edu/features/how_the_first_chain_reaction_changed_science/">Chicago Pile Number One</a>, or CP-1 for short – and it was here they obtained world’s the first controlled nuclear chain reaction on December 2, 1942. A single random neutron was enough to start the chain reaction process once the physicists assembled CP-1. The first neutron would induce fission on a uranium nucleus, emitting a set of new neutrons. These secondary neutrons hit carbon nuclei in the graphite and slowed down. Then they’d run into other uranium nuclei and induce a second round of fission reactions, emit even more neutrons, and on and on. The cadmium control rods made sure the process wouldn’t continue indefinitely, because Fermi and his team could choose exactly how and where to insert them to control the chain reaction.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/197021/original/file-20171129-12035-4shqnh.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/197021/original/file-20171129-12035-4shqnh.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/197021/original/file-20171129-12035-4shqnh.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=534&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/197021/original/file-20171129-12035-4shqnh.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=534&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/197021/original/file-20171129-12035-4shqnh.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=534&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/197021/original/file-20171129-12035-4shqnh.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=671&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/197021/original/file-20171129-12035-4shqnh.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=671&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/197021/original/file-20171129-12035-4shqnh.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=671&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A nuclear chain reaction. Green arrows show the split of a uranium nucleus in two fission fragments, emitting new neutrons. Some of these neutrons can induce new fission reactions (black arrows). Some of the neutrons may be lost in other processes (blue arrows). Red arrows show the delayed neutrons that come later from the radioactive fission fragments and that can induce new fission reactions.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Nuclear_fission_chain_reaction.svg">MikeRun modified by Erin O’Donnell, MSU</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Controlling the chain reaction was extremely important: If the balance between produced and absorbed neutrons was not exactly right, then the chain reactions either would not proceed at all, or in the other much more dangerous extreme, the chain reactions would multiply rapidly with the release of enormous amounts of energy.</p>
<p>Sometimes, a few seconds after the fission occurs in a nuclear chain reaction, additional neutrons are released. Fission fragments are typically radioactive, and can emit different types of radiation, among them neutrons. Right away, Enrico Fermi, Leo Szilard, <a href="https://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/1963/wigner-facts.html">Eugene Wigner</a> and others recognized the importance of these so-called “delayed neutrons” in controlling the chain reaction.</p>
<p>If they weren’t taken into account, these additional neutrons would induce more fission reactions than anticipated. As a result, the nuclear chain reaction in their Chicago experiment could have spiraled out of control, with potentially devastating results. More importantly, however, this time delay between the fission and the release of more neutrons allows some time for human beings to react and make adjustments, controlling the power of the chain reaction so it doesn’t proceed too fast.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/197198/original/file-20171130-30931-1ebeuxu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/197198/original/file-20171130-30931-1ebeuxu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/197198/original/file-20171130-30931-1ebeuxu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=614&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/197198/original/file-20171130-30931-1ebeuxu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=614&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/197198/original/file-20171130-30931-1ebeuxu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=614&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/197198/original/file-20171130-30931-1ebeuxu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=771&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/197198/original/file-20171130-30931-1ebeuxu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=771&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/197198/original/file-20171130-30931-1ebeuxu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=771&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Nuclear power plants operate in 30 countries today.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/Plant-Vogtle/05d857a8e2c640adacf01d8e0dcf77ca/1/0">AP Photo/John Bazemore</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The events of December 2, 1942 marked a huge milestone. Figuring out how to create and control the nuclear chain reaction was the foundation for the 448 nuclear reactors producing energy worldwide today. At present, 30 countries include nuclear reactors in their power portfolio. Within these countries, <a href="https://www.iaea.org/PRIS/CountryStatistics/CountryDetails.aspx?current=US">nuclear energy contributes on average 24 percent</a> of their total electrical power, ranging as high as <a href="https://www.iaea.org/PRIS/CountryStatistics/CountryDetails.aspx?current=FR">72 percent in France</a>.</p>
<p>CP-1’s success was also essential for the continuation of the Manhattan Project and the creation of the <a href="https://www.atomicheritage.org/history/bombings-hiroshima-and-nagasaki-1945">two atomic bombs used during World War II</a>.</p>
<h2>Physicists’ remaining questions</h2>
<p>The quest to understand delayed neutron emission and nuclear fission continues in modern nuclear physics laboratories. The race today is not for building atomic bombs or even nuclear reactors; it’s for understanding of basic properties of nuclei through close collaboration between experiment and theory. </p>
<p>Researchers have observed fission experimentally only for a small number of <a href="http://edtech2.boisestate.edu/lindabennett1/502/atoms_isotopes.html">isotopes</a> – the various versions of an element based on how many neutrons each has – and the details of this complex process are not yet well-understood. State-of-the-art theoretical models try to explain the observed fission properties, like how much energy is released, the number of neutrons emitted and the masses of the fission fragments.</p>
<p>Delayed neutron emission happens only for nuclei that are not naturally occurring, and these nuclei live for only a short amount of time. While experiments have revealed some of the nuclei that emit delayed neutrons, we are not yet able to reliably predict which isotopes should have this property. We also don’t know exact probabilities for delayed neutron emission or the amount of energy released – properties that are very important for understanding the details of energy production in nuclear reactors.</p>
<p>In addition, researchers are trying to <a href="https://science.energy.gov/ascr/highlights/2015/ascr-2015-08-a/">predict new nuclei where nuclear fission might be possible</a>. They’re building new experiments and powerful new facilities which will provide access to nuclei that have never before been studied, in an attempt to measure all these properties directly. Together, the new experimental and theoretical studies will give us a much better understanding of nuclear fission, which can help improve the performance and safety of nuclear reactors.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/197077/original/file-20171130-12069-1jxmxhk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/197077/original/file-20171130-12069-1jxmxhk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/197077/original/file-20171130-12069-1jxmxhk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/197077/original/file-20171130-12069-1jxmxhk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/197077/original/file-20171130-12069-1jxmxhk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/197077/original/file-20171130-12069-1jxmxhk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/197077/original/file-20171130-12069-1jxmxhk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/197077/original/file-20171130-12069-1jxmxhk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Artist’s rendition of two merging neutron stars, another situation where fission occurs.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/12740">NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center/CI Lab</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Both fission and delayed neutron emission are processes that also happen within stars. The <a href="https://theconversation.com/cosmic-alchemy-colliding-neutron-stars-show-us-how-the-universe-creates-gold-86104">creation of heavy elements, like silver and gold</a>, in particular can depend on the fission and delayed neutron emission properties of exotic nuclei. Fission breaks the heaviest elements and replaces them with lighter ones (fission fragments), completely changing the element composition of a star. Delayed neutron emission adds more neutrons to the stellar environment, that can then induce new nuclear reactions. For example, nuclear properties played a vital role in the <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-astrophysicists-are-over-the-moon-about-observing-merging-neutron-stars-84957">neutron-star merger event</a> that was recently discovered by <a href="https://theconversation.com/ligo-announcement-vaults-astronomy-out-of-its-silent-movie-era-into-the-talkies-85727">gravitational-wave and electromagnetic observatories around the world</a>.</p>
<p>The science has come a long way since Szilard’s vision and Fermi’s proof of a controlled nuclear chain reaction. At the same time, new questions have emerged, and there’s still a lot to learn about the basic nuclear properties that drive the chain reaction and its impact on energy production here on Earth and elsewhere in our universe.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/GDUncuEErzQ?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">How the Atomic Age began at UChicago.</span></figcaption>
</figure><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/87154/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Artemis Spyrou receives funding from the National Science Foundation and the Department of Energy/National Nuclear Security Administration.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Wolfgang Mittig receives funding from NSF.</span></em></p>By figuring out fission, physicists were able to split uranium atoms and release massive amounts of energy. This Manhattan Project work paved the way both for atomic bombs and nuclear power reactors.Artemis Spyrou, Associate Professor of Nuclear Astrophysics, Michigan State UniversityWolfgang Mittig, Professor of Physics, Michigan State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/585672016-06-29T10:59:20Z2016-06-29T10:59:20ZBikini islanders still deal with fallout of US nuclear tests, more than 70 years later<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/127827/original/image-20160622-7154-1ilmm3z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">'A-Day' marked the first of 23 atomic bomb explosions at Bikini.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/departmentofenergy/10561812725">Department of Energy</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>In 1946, French fashion designer Jacques Heim released a woman’s swimsuit he called the “Atome” (French for “atom”) – a name selected to suggest its design would be as shocking to people that summer as the atomic bombings of Japan had been the summer before.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/127818/original/image-20160622-7203-3ruapq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/127818/original/image-20160622-7203-3ruapq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/127818/original/image-20160622-7203-3ruapq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/127818/original/image-20160622-7203-3ruapq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/127818/original/image-20160622-7203-3ruapq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/127818/original/image-20160622-7203-3ruapq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/127818/original/image-20160622-7203-3ruapq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/127818/original/image-20160622-7203-3ruapq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The scandalous ‘Bikini,’ small enough to fit in a matchbox like the one she’s holding.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Not to be outdone, competitor Louis Réard raised the stakes, quickly releasing an even more skimpy swimsuit. The Vatican found Réard’s swimsuit more than shocking, declaring it to actually be “<a href="http://www.kmswimwear.com/swimwear-timeline/">sinful</a>.” So what did Réard consider an appropriate name for his creation? He called it the “<a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/life/fashion/2013/07/history_of_the_bikini_how_it_came_to_america.html">Bikini</a>” – a name meant to shock people even more than “Atome.” But why was this name so shocking?</p>
<p>In the summer of 1946, “Bikini” was all over the news. It’s the name of a small atoll – a circular group of coral islands – within the remote mid-Pacific island chain called the Marshall Islands. The United States had <a href="http://www.rmiembassyus.org/History.htm">assumed control</a> of the former Japanese territory after the end of World War II, just a few months earlier.</p>
<p>The United States soon came up with some very big plans for the little atoll of Bikini. After forcing the <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/sf/national/2015/11/27/a-ground-zero-forgotten/">167 residents</a> to relocate to another atoll, they started to prepare Bikini as an atomic bomb test site. Two test bombings scheduled for that summer were intended to be very visible demonstrations of the United States’ newly acquired nuclear might. <a href="http://time.com/3881386/able-and-baker-photos-from-atomic-bomb-tests-july-1946/">Media coverage</a> of the happenings at Bikini was extensive, and public interest ran very high. Who could have foreseen that even now – 70 years later – the Marshall Islanders would still be suffering the aftershocks from the nuclear bomb testing on Bikini Atoll?</p>
<iframe src="https://www.google.com/maps/embed?pb=!1m18!1m12!1m3!1d54947715.810362644!2d105.33242446439374!3d16.125137160675283!2m3!1f0!2f0!3f0!3m2!1i1024!2i768!4f13.1!3m3!1m2!1s0x644c2180a24fadbf%3A0x4c3f21ce9753a027!2sBikini+Atoll!5e1!3m2!1sen!2sus!4v1466621329499" width="100%" height="450" frameborder="0" style="border:0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<h2>The big plan for tiny Bikini</h2>
<p>According to the testing schedule, the U.S. plan was to demolish a 95-vessel <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/inatl/longterm/flash/july/bikini46.htm">fleet of obsolete warships</a> on June 30, 1946 with an airdropped atomic bomb. Reporters, U.S. politicians, and representatives from the major governments of the world would witness events from distant <a href="http://time.com/3881386/able-and-baker-photos-from-atomic-bomb-tests-july-1946/">observation ships</a>. On July 24, a second bomb, this time detonated underwater, would destroy any surviving naval vessels.</p>
<p>These two sequential tests were intended to allow comparison of air-detonated versus underwater-detonated atomic bombs in terms of destructive power to warships. The very future of naval warfare in the advent of the atomic bomb was in the balance. Many assumed the tests would clearly show that <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Operation-Crossroads-Atomic-Tests-Bikini/dp/1557509190">naval ships were now obsolete</a>, and that air forces represented the future of global warfare.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/MV3fQterjEg?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Slow motion film of atomic bomb airdropped on Bikini Atoll.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But when June 30 arrived, the airdrop bombing didn’t go as planned. The bomber <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/travel/2002/aug/06/travelnews.nuclearindustry.environment">missed his target by more than a third of a mile</a>, so the bomb caused much less ship damage than anticipated.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/x_LrBm5oVRk?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Color film of underwater atomic bomb near Marshall Islands.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The subsequent underwater bomb detonation didn’t go so well either. It unexpectedly produced a spray of highly radioactive water that extensively contaminated everything it landed on. Naval inspectors couldn’t even return to the area to assess ship damage because of the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKH437o14vA">threat of deadly radiation doses</a> from the bomb’s “<a href="https://www.ready.gov/nuclear-blast">fallout</a>” – the radioactivity produced by the explosion. All future bomb testing was canceled until the military could evaluate what had gone wrong and come up with another testing strategy.</p>
<h2>And even more bombings to follow</h2>
<p>The United States did not, however, abandon little Bikini. It had even bigger plans with bigger bombs in mind. Ultimately, there would be 23 Bikini test bombings, spread over 12 years, comparing different bomb sizes, before the United States finally moved nuclear bomb testing to <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LLCF7vPanrY">other locations</a>, leaving Bikini to recover as best it could.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/127830/original/image-20160622-7158-1n1hzb0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/127830/original/image-20160622-7158-1n1hzb0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/127830/original/image-20160622-7158-1n1hzb0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=479&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/127830/original/image-20160622-7158-1n1hzb0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=479&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/127830/original/image-20160622-7158-1n1hzb0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=479&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/127830/original/image-20160622-7158-1n1hzb0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=602&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/127830/original/image-20160622-7158-1n1hzb0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=602&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/127830/original/image-20160622-7158-1n1hzb0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=602&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">1956 Operation Redwing bombing at Enewetak Atoll.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.nv.doe.gov/library/photos/photodetails.aspx?ID=1060">National Nuclear Security Administration / Nevada Field Office</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The most dramatic change in the testing at Bikini occurred in 1954, when the bomb designs switched from fission to fusion mechanisms. <a href="http://science.howstuffworks.com/nuclear-bomb4.htm">Fission bombs</a> – the type dropped on Japan – explode when heavy elements like uranium split apart. <a href="http://www.livescience.com/53280-hydrogen-bomb-vs-atomic-bomb.html">Fusion bombs</a>, in contrast, explode when light atoms like deuterium join together. Fusion bombs, often called “hydrogen” or “thermonuclear” bombs, can produce much larger explosions.</p>
<p>The United States military learned about the power of fusion energy the hard way, when they first tested a fusion bomb on Bikini. Based on the expected size of the explosion, a swath of the Pacific Ocean the size of Wisconsin was blockaded to protect ships from entering the fallout zone.</p>
<p>On March 1, 1954, the bomb detonated just as planned – but still there were a couple of problems. The bomb turned out to be 1,100 times larger than the Hiroshima bomb, rather than the expected 450 times. And the prevailing westerly winds turned out to be stronger than meteorologists had predicted. The result? Widespread fallout contamination to islands hundreds of miles downwind from the test site and, consequently, <a href="http://press.princeton.edu/titles/10691.html">high radiation exposures to the Marshall Islanders</a> who lived on them.</p>
<h2>Dealing with the fallout, for decades</h2>
<p>Three days after the detonation of the bomb, radioactive dust had settled on the ground of downwind islands to depths up to half an inch. Natives from badly contaminated islands were evacuated to Kwajalein – an upwind, uncontaminated atoll that was home to a large U.S. military base – where their health status was assessed.</p>
<p>Residents of the Rongelap Atoll – Bikini’s downwind neighbor – received particularly high radiation doses. They had burns on their skin and depressed blood counts. Islanders from other atolls did not receive doses high enough to induce such symptoms. However, as I explain in my book <a href="http://press.princeton.edu/titles/10691.html">“Strange Glow: The Story of Radiation,”</a> even those who didn’t have any radiation sickness at the time received doses high enough to put them at increased cancer risk, particularly for thyroid cancers and leukemia.</p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/127822/original/image-20160622-7170-hcoj8u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/127822/original/image-20160622-7170-hcoj8u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/127822/original/image-20160622-7170-hcoj8u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=750&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/127822/original/image-20160622-7170-hcoj8u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=750&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/127822/original/image-20160622-7170-hcoj8u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=750&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/127822/original/image-20160622-7170-hcoj8u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=943&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/127822/original/image-20160622-7170-hcoj8u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=943&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/127822/original/image-20160622-7170-hcoj8u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=943&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A Marshall Islands resident has his body levels of radioactivity checked in a U.S. government lab.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/argonne/8167845013">Argonne National Laboratory</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><a href="http://majuro.usembassy.gov/legacy.html">What happened to the Marshall Islanders next</a> is a sad story of their constant relocation from island to island, trying to avoid the radioactivity that lingered for decades. Over the years following the testing, the Marshall Islanders living on the fallout-contaminated islands ended up breathing, absorbing, drinking and eating considerable amounts of radioactivity.</p>
<p>In the 1960s, cancers started to appear among the islanders. For almost 50 years, the United States government studied their health and provided medical care. But the <a href="https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-human-radiation-experiments-9780195107920?cc=us&lang=en">government study ended in 1998</a>, and the islanders were then expected to find their own medical care and submit their radiation-related health bills to a <a href="http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/bomb/filmmore/reference/primary/tribunal.html">Nuclear Claims Tribunal</a>, in order to collect compensation.</p>
<h2>Marshall Islanders still waiting for justice</h2>
<p>By 2009, the Nuclear Claims Tribunal, funded by Congress and overseen by Marshall Islands judges to pay compensation for radiation-related health and property claims, exhausted its allocated funds with <a href="http://majuro.usembassy.gov/legacy.html#_compensation">US$45.8 million in personal injury claims</a> still owed the victims. At present, about half of the valid claimants have died waiting for their compensation. Congress shows no inclination to replenish the empty fund, so it’s unlikely the remaining survivors will ever see their money.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/127833/original/image-20160622-7154-1d7gidm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/127833/original/image-20160622-7154-1d7gidm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/127833/original/image-20160622-7154-1d7gidm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=476&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/127833/original/image-20160622-7154-1d7gidm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=476&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/127833/original/image-20160622-7154-1d7gidm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=476&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/127833/original/image-20160622-7154-1d7gidm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=599&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/127833/original/image-20160622-7154-1d7gidm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=599&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/127833/original/image-20160622-7154-1d7gidm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=599&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Ten years after bombing ended, the U.S. government assured Marshall Islanders a safe return.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/departmentofenergy/10561566153/">Department of Energy</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But if the Marshall Islanders cannot get financial compensation, perhaps they can still win a moral victory. They hope to force the United States and eight other nuclear weapons states into keeping another broken promise, this one made via the <a href="https://www.un.org/disarmament/wmd/nuclear/npt/">Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons</a>.</p>
<p>This international agreement between <a href="http://disarmament.un.org/treaties/t/npt">191 sovereign nations</a> entered into force in 1970 and was renewed indefinitely in 1995. It aims to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and work toward disarmament. </p>
<p>In 2014, the Marshall Islands claimed that the nine nuclear-armed nations – China, Britain, France, India, Israel, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia and the United States – have not fulfilled their treaty obligations. The Marshall Islanders are <a href="http://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2016-03-07/marshall-islands-begins-world-court-nuclear-disarmament-case">seeking legal action</a> in the United Nations International Court of Justice in The Hague. They’ve asked the court to require these countries to take substantive action toward nuclear disarmament. Despite the fact that India, North Korea, Israel and Pakistan are not among the 191 nations that are signatories of the treaty, the Marshall Islands’ suit still contends that these four nations “have the obligation under customary international law to pursue [disarmament] negotiations in good faith.”</p>
<p>The process is currently stalled due to jurisdictional squabbling. Regardless, experts in international law say the <a href="https://armscontrollaw.com/2014/04/24/marshall-islands-brings-lawsuits-against-all-nine-nuclear-weapons-possessing-states-in-the-international-court-of-justice/">prospects for success</a> through this David versus Goliath approach are slim.</p>
<p>But even if they don’t win in the courtroom, the Marshall Islands might shame these nations in the court of public opinion and draw new attention to the dire human consequences of nuclear weapons. That in itself can be counted as a small victory, for a people who have seldom been on the winning side of anything. Time will tell how this all turns out, but more than 70 years since the first bomb test, the Marshall Islanders are well accustomed to waiting.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/58567/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Timothy J. Jorgensen does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>In the summer of 1946, the U.S. government detonated the first of many atomic bomb tests in the Marshall Islands. Seventy years of radiation exposure later, residents are still fighting for justice.Timothy J. Jorgensen, Director of the Health Physics and Radiation Protection Graduate Program and Associate Professor of Radiation Medicine, Georgetown UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/551982016-04-22T10:02:55Z2016-04-22T10:02:55ZBefore fusion: a human history of fire<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/119341/original/image-20160419-13929-wvghvc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Hydrogen is built into helium at a temperature of millions of degrees.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Sun_by_the_Atmospheric_Imaging_Assembly_of_NASA%27s_Solar_Dynamics_Observatory_-_20100819.jpg">NASA/SDO (AIA)</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>We humans are fire creatures. Tending fire is a species trait, a capacity we alone possess – and one we are not likely to tolerate willingly in any other species. But then we live on Earth, the only true fire planet, the only one we know of that <a href="http://www.reaktionbooks.co.uk/display.asp?ISB=9781780230467&sf1=contributor&st1=%22Stephen+J+Pyne%22&m=1&dc=1">burns living landscapes</a>. Fire is where, uniquely, our special capabilities and Earth’s bioenergy flows converge. That has made us the keystone species for fire on Earth. Our environmental power is literally a <a href="http://www.washington.edu/uwpress/search/books/PYNFIP.html">fire power</a>. </p>
<p>We developed small guts and large heads because we could <a href="http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/cooking-up-bigger-brains/">cook food</a>. We went to the top of the food chain because we could <a href="http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/science/2015/08/16/01-ancient-groups-likely-used-fire-as-landscape-tool.html">cook landscapes</a>. Then we went from burning living landscapes to <a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2015/11/a-brief-history-of-human-energy-use/415749/">burning fossilized, lithic ones</a> and became a geologic force that has begun to <a href="http://www.ipcc.ch/">cook the planet</a>. Our firepower underwrites that tangle of anthropogenic meddlings summed up as “global change.” The <a href="http://www.nature.com/news/anthropocene-the-human-age-1.17085">Anthropocene</a> might equally be called the <a href="https://aeon.co/essays/how-humans-made-fire-and-fire-made-us-human">Pyrocene</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/119340/original/image-20160419-13929-1iwre2e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/119340/original/image-20160419-13929-1iwre2e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/119340/original/image-20160419-13929-1iwre2e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=938&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/119340/original/image-20160419-13929-1iwre2e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=938&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/119340/original/image-20160419-13929-1iwre2e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=938&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/119340/original/image-20160419-13929-1iwre2e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1178&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/119340/original/image-20160419-13929-1iwre2e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1178&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/119340/original/image-20160419-13929-1iwre2e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1178&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">An Australian Aboriginal family on the move, with the boy on the right carrying fire, one tool humans have used for millennia to control the environment. Watercolor (1790), attributed to Philip Gidley King.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www2.sl.nsw.gov.au/archive/discover_collections/history_nation/agriculture/life/index.html">State Library of New South Wales, Banks Papers - Series 36a.03, digital ID: a2225003</a>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The Pyrocene threatens to overwhelm Earth with fire as the Pleistocene did with ice. It has forced us to reexamine the nature of our firepower, which has taken two forms. One involves open burning on the landscape. We tweak natural fire regimes to better suit our purposes. We set fires for hunting, foraging, protection against wildfire, even warfare. We burn slashed woods and drained peatlands for farming. We kindle pastures to improve fodder and browse. We burn fallow, of any and all kinds. Over the past century we have sought, with equal intensity, to <a href="https://www.nps.gov/fire/wildland-fire/learning-center/fireside-chats/history-timeline/operational-inventions-and-developments.cfm">remove fire</a> from protected forests and parks. The pyrogeography of the planet is sculpted by the fires we apply and withhold, and the landscapes we have fashioned, which in turn shape the fires they exhibit.</p>
<p>Our other firepower comes from closed combustion. We put fire into special chambers – hearths, forges, furnaces, engines, candle wicks, dynamos – to generate light, heat and power. These mechanical keepers of the flame have enormously leveraged our firepower. Matthew Boulton, James Watt’s business partner in promoting the steam engine, put it with <a href="http://www.engineeringhalloffame.org/profile-watt.html">brutal pithiness</a>: “I sell here, sir, what all the world desires to have – Power.” </p>
<p>As fire industrialized, as biotas, terrain, air and lightning were disaggregated and refined into <a href="http://www.auburn.edu/academic/forestry_wildlife/fire/combustion.htm">fuel, oxygen and spark</a> to produce maximum effects, fire began to vanish from daily life and landscapes. The two narratives of fire – open and closed – once overlapped. We domesticated landscapes by passing the equivalent of the hearth fire over them. Now we use closed combustion to substitute for or suppress outright those free-burning flames. </p>
<h2>Shifting our understanding of fire</h2>
<p>Today, as <a href="https://www3.epa.gov/climatechange/ghgemissions/global.html">measured by emissions</a>, even allowing for the massive incineration of tropical peat in Indonesia, we burn far more by closed combustion than by open. Particularly in urban and industrial societies, more and more combustion comes from confined fires than from open flames on landscapes. In modern cities <a href="http://www.dec.ny.gov/chemical/58519.html">free-burning fire</a> is progressively banned, even for ceremonial purposes. The <a href="http://burningman.org/">Burning Man</a> festival had to <a href="http://burningman.org/culture/history/brc-history/event-archives/1986-1991/firstyears/">relocate</a> from San Francisco’s Baker Beach to Black Rock, a salt playa in Nevada. Candles are <a href="http://rues.rutgers.edu/fireguide.php">banished</a> from university dormitories.</p>
<p>Most of humanity’s fire history has pivoted around a quest for combustibles, for new and more abundant sources of stuff to burn. As we exhausted one cache of combustibles, we moved to another, eventually drafting fossil biomass from the geologic past. Slash-and-burn agriculture is an apt metaphor for humanity’s fevered quest for fire generally.</p>
<p>Now we face a question of sinks – of the capacity of ecological systems, including Earth itself, to absorb all the effluent. So, too, our understanding of fire’s place in planetary history is inverting. We used to understand fire as a subset of natural history, particularly of climate. Now natural history, including climate, is becoming a subset of fire history.</p>
<h2>Leaving behind Promethean fire</h2>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/119339/original/image-20160419-13910-17cedl4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/119339/original/image-20160419-13910-17cedl4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/119339/original/image-20160419-13910-17cedl4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=1001&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/119339/original/image-20160419-13910-17cedl4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=1001&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/119339/original/image-20160419-13910-17cedl4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=1001&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/119339/original/image-20160419-13910-17cedl4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1258&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/119339/original/image-20160419-13910-17cedl4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1258&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/119339/original/image-20160419-13910-17cedl4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1258&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">‘Prometheus Carrying Fire,’ oil on canvas (1637), by Jan Cossiers.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The open and closed narratives of fire, once linked, have diverged. The story of closed combustion is <a href="http://www.greekmythology.com/Titans/Prometheus/prometheus.html">Promethean</a>, stolen from the gods and brought under human control. It speaks to fire abstracted from its setting, perhaps by violence, and certainly held in defiance of an existing order. Promethean fire provides the motive power behind most of our technology.</p>
<p>The narrative of open burning is a more primeval story that speaks to fire as a companion on our journey, as part of how we exercise stewardship of our natural habitat. We are the agent that brokers fire for the biosphere, who more than any other organism shapes the patterning of fire on the land.</p>
<p>Overall, thanks to Promethean fire, we now have too much of the wrong kind of fire, and it has led to a quest for alternative forms of energy that do not rely on combustion. The move toward carbon-neutral energy promises to unbundle the source of our power from our grip on the torch. Recent developments in <a href="http://phys.org/news/2016-02-scientists-germany-nuclear-fusion.html">nuclear fusion</a>, which has long promised a full replacement for burning, have <a href="http://www.power-technology.com/features/featureplaying-catch-up-can-the-stellarator-win-the-race-to-fusion-energy-4866342/">inspired calls</a> for a “<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/mar/24/nuclear-fusion-needs-a-wright-brothers-moment-says-firm-closing-on-the-target">Wright brothers moment</a>” to show the world what is possible. Together fusion and solar power promise to replace the human need for controlled flames, to decouple Promethean from primeval fire.</p>
<p>Such is the power of fire in our imagination, however, that we continue to speak loosely of such alternatives as “fire,” as earlier times lumped together all natural phenomena that radiated heat and light. Well into the 18th century, the Enlightenment saw central fires in the Earth that boiled over as <a href="http://volcano.oregonstate.edu/iceland">volcanoes</a>, <a href="http://physics.ucr.edu/%7Ewudka/Physics7/Notes_www/node31.html">celestial fires</a> in the guise of stars and comets, solar fire blazing from the sun, electrical fires crackling as lightning. Fire was, and remains, a potent source of metaphor. </p>
<p>But fusion and solar power are not combustion. They represent a decarbonization of energy to the point that it is no longer fire. We can all breathe easier (literally) when Promethean fire shrinks, and perhaps vanishes.</p>
<h2>Returning fire to nature</h2>
<p>That still leaves primeval fire, an emergent property of the living world that has flourished since the first plants colonized continents. It will not go away. Rather, its removal, even its attempted removal, can be profoundly disruptive. We need a lot more primeval fire of the right sort. Paradoxically, the more we find surrogates for closed combustion, the more we can embrace <a href="http://www.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-1119953561.html">open burning</a>.</p>
<p>We have to sort out good fire from bad. That’s exactly what our species monopoly makes possible and what our firepower demands of us. We can begin by reversing the Promethean story, by taking fire out of our machines and putting it back into its indigenous setting. Faux fires like solar power, nuclear fission and fusion can nudge that project along by taking its place and fulfilling our modern energy needs. A triumph of fusion energy won’t mean the end of fire. It will simply liberate it from its enforced captivity and relocate it into landscapes where it can do the <a href="http://www.freshfromflorida.com/Divisions-Offices/Florida-Forest-Service/Wildland-Fire/Prescribed-Fire/The-Natural-Role-of-Fire">ecological work</a> that it alone can do.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/55198/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Stephen Pyne does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Fire has played a vital role in human history, and will continue to. Recent advances in fusion herald the freeing of fire from captivity back into its natural form.Stephen Pyne, Regents Professor in the School of Life Sciences, Arizona State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/352842015-05-21T09:58:27Z2015-05-21T09:58:27ZHarvesting usable fuel from nuclear waste – and dealing with the last chemical troublemakers<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/82103/original/image-20150518-25400-1fnl94d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">No one's a fan of nuclear waste. What if we could just recycle it all?</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/genphys/17029863549">General Physics Laboratory (GPL)</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>This article is part of The Conversation’s worldwide series on the Future of Nuclear. You can read the rest of the series <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/future-of-nuclear-series">here</a>.</em></p>
<p>Nuclear energy provides about <a href="http://www.world-nuclear.org/Nuclear-Basics/">11% of the world’s total electricity</a> today. This power source produces no carbon dioxide during plant operation, meaning it doesn’t contribute to climate change via greenhouse gas emissions. It can provide bulk power to industry and households around the clock, giving it a leg up on the intermittent nature of solar and wind. </p>
<p>It also receives widespread contempt for a variety of reasons – many purely emotional and with little or no scientific grounding. The most pressing legitimate issue is the management of used nuclear fuel, the waste by-product that needs to be removed from the reactor and replaced with fresh fuel to sustain power generation.</p>
<p>Ongoing research is tackling this problem by attempting to figure out how to transform much of what is currently waste into usable fuel.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/82101/original/image-20150518-25412-f8454x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/82101/original/image-20150518-25412-f8454x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/82101/original/image-20150518-25412-f8454x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=515&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/82101/original/image-20150518-25412-f8454x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=515&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/82101/original/image-20150518-25412-f8454x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=515&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/82101/original/image-20150518-25412-f8454x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=647&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/82101/original/image-20150518-25412-f8454x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=647&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/82101/original/image-20150518-25412-f8454x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=647&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The nuclear fuel cycle.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/nrcgov/7845780234">Nuclear Regulatory Commission</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>How do reactors generate nuclear waste?</h2>
<p>The reaction that produces energy in a nuclear reactor takes place in the nuclei of atoms – hence the name. One atom of uranium-235 (which contains 92 protons and 143 neutrons) absorbs a neutron and splits into two new atoms. This process releases large amounts of energy and, on average, 2.5 new neutrons that can be absorbed by other uranium-235 atoms, propagating a chain reaction. This process is called fission. The two new atoms are called fission products. They contribute to most of the short- to medium-term radioactivity of the fuel upon discharge from the reactor.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/82099/original/image-20150518-25432-1o96zam.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/82099/original/image-20150518-25432-1o96zam.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/82099/original/image-20150518-25432-1o96zam.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/82099/original/image-20150518-25432-1o96zam.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/82099/original/image-20150518-25432-1o96zam.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/82099/original/image-20150518-25432-1o96zam.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/82099/original/image-20150518-25432-1o96zam.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/82099/original/image-20150518-25432-1o96zam.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Replacing some of the core and replacing with fresh fuel.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/iaea_imagebank/8568198036">IAEA Imagebank</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Fission is most likely to take place in heavy atoms. Nuclear engineers and nuclear chemists focus on the heaviest elements – that is, the actinides, located at the very bottom of the periodic table. The fission process continues, consuming fuel, until the amount of burnable (fissile) atoms is no longer economical to keep using. Then the reactor is temporarily shut down for refueling. A third of the core is removed and replaced with fresh fuel. The remaining two-thirds of the core is shuffled around to optimize the power production. The leftover material, the used fuel, is highly radioactive and physically hot, and must therefore be cooled and shielded for safety reasons. </p>
<p>In a commercial power reactor, brand new unused fuel consists of 3%-5% uranium-235, with the balance being uranium-238. The heavier uranium-238 isotope will not fission but can transform to an even heavier isotope, uranium-239, via a process called neutron capture. Continued neutron capture eventually produces a suite of elements heavier than uranium (so called trans-uranics), some of which will fission and produce power, but some of which will not. </p>
<p>These trans-uranic, actinide elements – including neptunium, plutonium, americium and curium – have one thing in common: they contribute to the long-term radioactivity of the used fuel. After the energy-generating fission reaction, the fission products’ radioactivity decreases rapidly. But because of the other trans-uranic elements in the mix, the material needs to be isolated until deemed safe – on the order of millions of years.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/82105/original/image-20150518-25400-7e21zy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/82105/original/image-20150518-25400-7e21zy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/82105/original/image-20150518-25400-7e21zy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=410&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/82105/original/image-20150518-25400-7e21zy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=410&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/82105/original/image-20150518-25400-7e21zy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=410&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/82105/original/image-20150518-25400-7e21zy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=516&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/82105/original/image-20150518-25400-7e21zy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=516&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/82105/original/image-20150518-25400-7e21zy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=516&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">At least 23 feet of water covers the fuel assemblies in the spent fuel pool at the Brunswick Nuclear Power Plant in Southport, North Carolina.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/nrcgov/15856396219">Matt Born/Wilmington Star-News</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Upon discharge from the reactor, the used fuel contains only about 3%-4% fission products. The rest is uranium and trans-uranics that weren’t part of the fission reaction. Most of the material is the original uranium-238, still perfectly suited to use in new fuel, as is the remaining uranium-235 and the plutonium-239 (combined about 1.5% of the used fuel).</p>
<p>Disposing of this material as waste is like taking one small bite of a sandwich and then throwing the rest in the trash. It’s no surprise then that several countries are <a href="http://www.areva.com/EN/operations-1118/areva-la-hague-recycling-used-fuel.html">recycling nuclear fuel</a> to recover the remaining <a href="http://www.sellafieldsites.com/solution/spent-fuel-management/thorp-reprocessing/">useful material</a>. Other countries are revisiting these <a href="http://www.energy.gov/ne/fuel-cycle-technologies/fuel-cycle-research-development">options</a>, at least on a <a href="https://www.kaeri.re.kr/english/sub/sub04_03.jsp">research basis</a>.</p>
<h2>Scope of the waste problem</h2>
<p>A typical power reactor (1 GWe) produces about <a href="http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/Nuclear-Fuel-Cycle/Nuclear-Wastes/Radioactive-Waste-Management/">27 metric tons of used fuel</a> each year, in order to generate the electricity needed to power 700,000 homes (assuming an average American home <a href="http://www.eia.gov/tools/faqs/faq.cfm?id=97&t=3">consumes</a> about 11,000 kWh annually and a power plant has an average capacity factor of 85%). For comparison, a coal plant of similar power output will produce <a href="http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/Nuclear-Fuel-Cycle/Nuclear-Wastes/Radioactive-Waste-Management/">400,000 metric tons of ash</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/82104/original/image-20150518-25444-noqk7k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/82104/original/image-20150518-25444-noqk7k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/82104/original/image-20150518-25444-noqk7k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=681&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/82104/original/image-20150518-25444-noqk7k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=681&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/82104/original/image-20150518-25444-noqk7k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=681&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/82104/original/image-20150518-25444-noqk7k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=856&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/82104/original/image-20150518-25444-noqk7k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=856&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/82104/original/image-20150518-25444-noqk7k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=856&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Once spent fuel has cooled, it’s loaded into special canisters.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/nrcgov/6473422629">Nuclear Regulatory Commission</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The world’s <a href="https://www.euronuclear.org/info/encyclopedia/n/nuclear-power-plant-world-wide.htm">nuclear power capacity</a> is on the order of 370 GW, which corresponds to about 10,000 metric tons of used fuel generated each year worldwide. The total amount of used fuel in the world (as of September 2014) is around <a href="http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/Nuclear-Fuel-Cycle/Nuclear-Wastes/Radioactive-Waste-Management/">270,000 metric tons</a>, of which the <a href="http://www.gao.gov/assets/670/666454.pdf">US is storing about 70,000 metric tons</a>.</p>
<h2>The first round of reprocessing waste</h2>
<p>Removing uranium and plutonium from used fuel relies on a chemical process. Reprocessers dissolve the used fuel in acid and treat it with organic solvents to selectively remove the elements of interest and leave the unwanted elements behind. Commercial plants all use more or less the same method, <a href="https://www.euronuclear.org/info/encyclopedia/p/purex-process.htm">PUREX</a> (Plutonium Uranium Reduction EXtraction). </p>
<p>Originally invented in the US in the late 1940s, over the years PUREX has been adapted slightly to improve its performance. This process doesn’t separate out elements heavier than plutonium. The waste product after the reprocessing still needs to be isolated for what is essentially an eternity.</p>
<p>The benefit, though, is that it can recycle about 97% of the spent fuel, massively decreasing the volume of waste. The bulk of the material can then be made into new reactor fuel containing a mix of uranium and plutonium, so-called mixed oxide or MOX-fuel.</p>
<p>Major reprocessing plants are located in the UK, France and Russia. India has some capacity, and Japan has a reasonably large plant that was recently completed but is currently not used. Global reprocessing capacity of commercial fuel is around 4,000 metric tons per year. To date about 90,000 metric tons of used fuel has been reprocessed, about <a href="http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/Nuclear-Fuel-Cycle/Fuel-Recycling/Processing-of-Used-Nuclear-Fuel/">30% of the total amount of used fuel</a> produced in commercial reactors.</p>
<p>Some countries that do not have their own reprocessing plants ship material to countries that do, such as France. It’s expensive to invest in reprocessing infrastructure. It can also be a political decision not to do so, as in the US, because the technology can be used to create material for weapons (this was the original use in the 1940s). Of course, all reprocessing plants are under the scrutiny of the <a href="https://www.iaea.org">International Atomic Energy Agency</a>, and must account for all processed material to ensure that nothing is diverted for potential use in weapons.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/82106/original/image-20150518-25400-754c5f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/82106/original/image-20150518-25400-754c5f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/82106/original/image-20150518-25400-754c5f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/82106/original/image-20150518-25400-754c5f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/82106/original/image-20150518-25400-754c5f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/82106/original/image-20150518-25400-754c5f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/82106/original/image-20150518-25400-754c5f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/82106/original/image-20150518-25400-754c5f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">IAEA inspectors seal the spent fuel pond at Dukovany Nuclear Power Plant in the Czech Republic.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/iaea_imagebank/8567098529">IAEA Imagebank</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Dealing with that last 3%</h2>
<p>But that level of reprocessing doesn’t completely solve the issue of used nuclear fuel. My <a href="http://nuclear.eng.uci.edu">research at UC Irvine</a>, as well as that of other labs around the world, focuses on new ways to deal with the last few troublemakers in the used nuclear fuel. </p>
<p>We’re working on how to remove the remaining long-lived trans-uranic actinides with an efficiency high enough that the remaining nuclear waste’s isolation time would be decreased to 1,000 years or less. Maybe this still sounds like a long time, but the world is full of structures that have lasted for more than 1,000 years; we should be confident that we can construct something that will last a millennium. We could also, with reasonable confidence, create signs or informational material to mark the storage that people 1,000 years from now could reliably interpret.</p>
<p>While removing uranium and plutonium is readily done (as via PUREX), the next separation step is a grand challenge for various reasons. One is that many of the remaining fission products behave chemically very similar to americium and curium. This requires highly specialized chemicals that are often complex and expensive to synthesize. The radioactive nature of the material provides an additional layer of complexity; the radiation is not only hazardous for people but will also break down the chemicals needed for separation and may speed up corrosion and damage the equipment used in these processes. </p>
<p>The research efforts under way focus on developing new chemical reagents that are more stable with regard to radiation, more selective for the elements we are interested in recovering, and easier to make. Because of this, a lot of effort goes to fundamental studies of the chemical interactions between reagents and elements in used fuel. The <a href="http://www.acsept.org/AIWOpdf/AIWO1-12-Nash.pdf">problem at hand</a> has been described as a chemists’ playground and an engineers’ challenge.</p>
<p>The bottom line is that none of this is science fiction. Getting to a point at which almost all nuclear waste can be repurposed poses a grand challenge, perhaps comparable to putting a man on the moon, but it is not impossible.</p>
<p><em>This article is part of The Conversation’s worldwide series on the Future of Nuclear. You can read the rest of the series <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/future-of-nuclear-series">here</a>.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/35284/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mikael Nilsson receives funding from the US Department of Energy and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. He is affiliated with the American Nuclear Society.</span></em></p>Even the biggest proponents of nuclear power can’t ignore 10,000 metric tons of spent fuel globally every year. What if we could recycle every last atom of nuclear waste?Mikael Nilsson, Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, University of California, IrvineLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.