1. Introduction : the nuclear vision -- 1.1. Nuclear energy : uranium in a bucket -- 1.2. Atoms for peace -- 1.3. The rise and fall of nuclear power -- 1.4. On to generation IV? 2. Nuclear innovation : the early days -- 2.1. Early US experiments -- 2.2. Thorium reactors and fast breeders -- 2.3. What next? -- 2.4. Design parameters, choices, and constraints 3. New brooms-in the 2000s -- 3.1. Back to breeders--and thorium -- 3.2. Small is beautiful--SMRs -- 3.3. Reactor choices and prospects 4. Progress in the 2020s -- 4.1. SMRs move ahead tentatively -- 4.2. ANT--a wider range -- 4.3. Fusion expectations -- 4.4. The prospects for advanced nuclear power 5. Nuclear power revisited -- 5.1. A review of the prospects for new nuclear technologies -- 5.2. Carbon intensity, materials, and land use -- 5.3. Nuclear and renewables -- 5.4. What long-term future for nuclear power? 6. Conclusions : the way ahead -- 6.1. The issues ahead -- 6.2. Choices ahead -- 6.3. An end to nuclear? Appendix 1. Public opposition to nuclear power -- Appendix 2. Nuclear and renewables--the basics compared.
Alongside renewables, nuclear power is often promoted as a viable energy option for major expansion in the future. However, it faces significant problems. Taking a critical approach towards the ongoing viability of nuclear energy solutions, this research and reference text contextualises the vices and virtues of fusion and fission against the rapidly expanding area of renewables and the challenge of climate change, in order to assess the future viability of nuclear power.
Researchers and postgraduate students in areas of nuclear power and nuclear energy. The book will be valuable supplementary reading for Master's courses in these subjects.
Mode of access: World Wide Web. System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader, EPUB reader, or Kindle reader.
David Elliott BSc, PhD, is Emeritus Professor of Technology Policy at the Open University. Prof. Elliott has written extensively on sustainable energy policy, including several books and a blog for Physics World. He is the editor of the long-established journal Renew, and the IOP Book Series in Renewable and Sustainable Power.
9780750351522 9780750351515
10.1088/978-0-7503-5152-2 doi
Nuclear energy. Nuclear power & engineering. Environment and energy.