Bulletin of the American Physical Society
Joint Fall 2011 Meeting of the APS New England Section and the New England Section of the American Association of Physics Teachers (NES/AAPT)
Volume 56, Number 17
Friday–Saturday, November 18–19, 2011; Amherst, Massachusetts
Session B1: Plenary Session: The Future of Nuclear Power |
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Chair: Laura Cadonati, UMass Amherst, Room: Campus Center Auditorium |
Friday, November 18, 2011 3:10PM - 4:00PM |
B1.00001: The Fundamentals and Status of Nuclear Power Invited Speaker: Regis A. Matzie Nuclear power has enormous potential to provide clean, safe base-load electricity to the world's growing population. Harnessing this potential in an economic and responsible manner is not without challenges. Safety remains the principal tenet of our operating fleet, which currently provides $\sim$20\% of U.S. electricity generated. The performance of this fleet from economic and safety standpoints has improved dramatically over the past several decades. This nuclear generation also represents greater than 70\% of the emission free electricity with hydroelectric power providing the majority of the remainder. There have been many lessons learned from the more than 50 years of experience with nuclear power and these have been factored into the new designs now being constructed worldwide. These new designs, which have enhanced safety compared to the operating fleet, have been simplified by employing passive safety systems and modular construction. There are applications for licenses of more than 20 new reactors under review by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission; the first of these licenses will be completed in early 2012, and the first new U.S. reactor will start operating in 2016. Yet there are still more improvements that can be made and these are being pursued to achieve an even greater deployment of nuclear power technology. [Preview Abstract] |
Friday, November 18, 2011 4:00PM - 4:50PM |
B1.00002: The Fukushima Nuclear Event and its Implications for Nuclear Power Invited Speaker: Michael Golay The combined strong earthquake and super tsunami of 12 March 2011 at the Fukushima nuclear power plant imposed the most severe challenges ever experienced at such a facility. Information regarding the plant response and status remains uncertain, but it is clear that severe damage has been sustained, that the plant staff have responded creatively and that the offsite implications are unlikely to be seriously threatening to the health, if not the prosperity, of the surrounding population. Reexamination of the regulatory constraints of nuclear power will occur worldwide, and some changes are likely; particularly concerning reliance upon active systems for achieving critical safety functions and concerning treatments of used reactor fuel. Whether worldwide expansion of the nuclear power economy will be slowed in the long run is perhaps unlikely and worth discussion. [Preview Abstract] |
Friday, November 18, 2011 4:50PM - 5:40PM |
B1.00003: The Liquid Fluoride Thorium Reactor: Energy Cheaper Than Coal Invited Speaker: Cavan Stone This century, we face significant environmental challenges. Our demand for limited natural resources is rapidly increasing and much of humanity is concerned about the consequences. Our unsustainably growing population drives these challenges, and humanely stabilizing it would alleviate these pressures. Demographic data clearly shows that prosperity stabilizes population and it also shows that prosperity critically requires energy. In spite of the pressing and demonstrable nature of these challenges however, politically there is no international consensus on global energy policy. Developing nations simply will not accept a policy that will hamper their economic growth. Yet, we do have a solution to these challenges, an idea conceived and experimentally tested by Alvin Weinberg at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the Liquid Fluoride Thorium Reactor. Presently, various laboratories and start-up companies, including the Chinese Academy of Sciences have begun efforts to commercialize the technology. By delivering the promise of inexpensive energy it will be in the economic interest of the developing nations to use this carbon-free energy source. By delivering superior performance on longstanding public concerns about nuclear energy, it will be technologically and politically feasible for developing nations to stabilize their population with the bounty of energy cheaper than coal. [Preview Abstract] |
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