PHYS 3080 Lecture Notes - Lecture 9: Boron, Silicon Carbide, Natural Uranium
22 Jun 2016
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Document Summary
1: the end of the first nuclear era. Accidents at three mile island and chernobyl, coupled with the very low cost of fossil fuels and uncertainty as to nuclear waste disposal, effectively ended the promise of this first generation of nuclear power reactors. Germany and sweden decided to phase out nuclear reactors. France on the other hand strengthened its nuclear commitment - nuclear industry now provides close to 80% of the country"s electricity. By 2006, there were 443 reactors (~ being lwrs) around the planet with an installed capacity of ~370gwe - often referred to as generation ii reactors (generation i being the early prototypes of the 1950s and 1960s) Growth rate in europe and n. america very small - average age of reactor is increasing and will steadily diminish as they reach the end of their useful lives. In emerging economies of asia, nuclear growth continues - most of the 24 reactors under construction in 2006 were in asia.
