Nuclear

Now in Nuclear

Molten Salt Reactors

Experimental/Generation IV molten-salt-cooled nuclear reactors (MSRs) run at higher temperatures and lower pressures than do today’s boiling-water/pressurized-water types. MSRs are simpler, smaller, lower in cost, have near-zero radiotoxicity and need no massive containment structures. As designed by Ottawa Valley Research Associates, Ltd. in Canada, they can be used for large–scale, heat-driven industrial processes. Today’s reactors are almost all for power generation.

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Knowledgebase

Keeping the Electricity<br /> Moving: NERC Guards<br /> the Bulk Power Grid

Keeping the Electricity Moving: NERC Guards the Bulk Power Grid

The North American Electric Reliability Corp. (NERC) guards against U.S. and Canadian electrical blackouts in the electrical grids that comprise the continent’s bulk power system. NERC sets and enforces reliability standards and identifies best practices in planning, power-generation operations, maintenance and training. NERC works with government regulators, utility companies, and managers of 445,000 miles of transmission lines.

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Knowledgebase

Chernobyl 25 Years Later

Chernobyl 25 Years Later

The world’s worst nuclear reactor accident—the Chernobyl meltdown—occurred 25 years ago. Cleanup is still underway. Thousands are on the job though no electricity has been generated there since 2000. Exhaustive health studies show little lasting effects among the hundreds of thousands exposed to low-level radiation, though more than 50 died and some are still sick. Also underway: endless arguments about low-level radiation exposure, resurgent wildlife in evacuated areas, and human factors.

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Groups

Energy Conversion Group (ECG)

Promotes the art and science of mechanical engineering in the power generation and energy conversion fields

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Applied Mechanics Division (AMD)

Energy and Technology Management Group (ETMG)

Committee on Power Boilers

Nuclear creates electricity with the intense heat from splitting atoms, making steam to drive electric generators. Reactors also power submarines, aircraft carriers, and icebreakers in naval applications. Nuclear power plants have comparatively low operating costs but are expensive to build and license. Nuclear power currently provides 13% of the world's electricity, and reactors have nearly zero emissions.