Category: Nuclear Age

Studies are showing that today’s generation heavily relies on the latest nuclear equipment and medicine heavily. The advancements in medicine and technology are tremendously different than 50 years ago and really show how far this world has really come. There are many benefits of these advancements but some say that the medicine can be very dangerous and hazardous if not used in its proper manner. This essay will further show all information and reasons to believe if this new type of medicine is truly safe to use or could it be extremely threatening to our safety?

In this day and age where catching deadly diseases and sicknesses is much easier than it was 50 years ago, our generation needs these technological advancements in medicine as without them some of us wouldn’t be alive to see the sun. Fortunately for us, these changes happened and we can still be able breathe and live on, according to (Medical uses, 2019) the advancements consist of Radiology and Mammography. Radiology specializes in the areas of bones like the uses of the X-Ray which helps detect whether a bone is broken, hurt or fractured. Without this, we won’t be able to figure out if the injury is serious or not. Mammography is a type of technology that helps out with diseases like breast cancer and can help get rid of it. EB editors suggest that the discovery of these advancements was found in the year 1935 but later polished and further made better further in the future. This advancement in our world shows how far we have come and that these changes are truly life-saving.

There are many different benefits when it comes down to the advancements in our technological nuclear medicine as they can save people from life-threatening cancers and other sicknesses. Radiation in medicine, 2009 suggests that these advancements can successfully dissect any type of artery without the need of opening and tear the chest fully open. These benefits are so extraordinary that they can heal and save people from deadly things such as cancer or broken bones in such a short time and with ease. Without this medicine, many people could be dying as of right now but with the use of this medicine and technology, these sicknesses are being healed and many people are surviving because of it. As I have stated many times during this essay our population could be a lot lower right now but thanks to this highly mechanized medicine people are surviving.

These benefits demonstrate why nuclear medicine is so important in this day and age it can equally be dangerous to the human body at the same time. Like all positives, there are always negatives to come with it. Not all of this medicine and technology is safe as (Radiation in medicine, 2009) shows that women who have become pregnant cannot expose themselves to certain pieces of nuclear equipment. If something goes wrong with one of the surgeries it can severely damage cell division which then leads it to be uncontrolled which is basically our genes in the cells mutating and making cancer cells and then the patient is diagnosed with cancer. Studies continue to show and discover that some of this technology is leading to DNA damage which can create an abnormal structure in the cells and then it further makes more cells which then ends in people getting cancer because of it. As the risks of nuclear medicine show that nuclear medicine isn’t always safe and can be very dangerous if it isn’t used under certain conditions.

When it comes down to the final straw these advancements can be very threatening and may seem like you should never use them as they can damage people permanently but fortunately, you will most likely have to use one of these items if you get terribly hurt or sick as they are the easiest way to heal and get rid of those deadly diseases. Due to all of the reasons above, in my opinion, the benefits outweigh the risks and in the end, it is worth risking our safety for the medicine as there is a high percentage that it can save your life like it has done with many others in the past.

Nuclear radiation and decay are often perceived as dangerous and harmful. In 2011, at the Fukushima Daiichi Accident, following a major earthquake, a 15-meter tsunami disabled the power supply and cooling of three Fukushima Daiichi reactors. An average of 400 mSv/hour (accumulated background radiation dose) was produced which is 40,000 times the amount of radiation in a dental X-ray. Although nuclear radiation can cause extreme harm on rare occasions, it has more positive outcomes than negative ones.

As an illustration, nuclear radiation is used in X-rays to see if bones are broken. X-ray radiation passes through the skin and then is stopped by the teeth or bone allowing us to visualize the inside of the human body. There is also radiation in our phones, televisions, and us, many people do not even know it but humans are radioactive, we accumulate 2.4 mSv a year, so why are we afraid of it? Nuclear radiation and decay is the process of nuclei losing energy by emitting energy particles or rays. This action occurs when an isotope (atoms that have the same number of protons and electrons but a different number of neutrons) becomes unstable. Atoms with unstable nuclei are called radioisotopes, which undergo nuclear decay. Radiation is only emitted once, the decay of the radioactive element occurs at a fixed rate. The half-life of a radioisotope is the time required for one-half of the amount of unstable material to degrade into a more stable material, this is reversed for isotopes.

There are three different types of decay, Alpha, Beta, and Gamma. Each type emits a particle from the nucleus; alpha particles are high-energy helium nuclei containing two protons and two neutrons. Beta particles are negatively charged like an electron; however, gamma decay is when a nucleus dissipates excess energy by a spontaneous electromagnetic process. In gamma decay, there are no subatomic particles emitted but rather rays are produced. Fission is the division of one atom into two, whereas fusion is the combination of two lighter atoms into a larger one. Fission is used in nuclear power reactors since it can be controlled, while fusion is not utilized to produce power since the reaction is not easily controlled and is expensive. Nuclear power stations could be a climate change solution – if we were not so afraid of it. The issue with nuclear power now is in order for humans to be able to utilize it; we need a lot of it. It is currently made out of uranium, which in large amounts can cause illnesses such as kidney disease. In small doses, Uranium is safe and will be able to function things like x-rays, but in reality, accidents can still occur. So what do we do? Scientists from the Shanghai Institute of applied physics are investing 3.3 billion dollars in a prototype of a thorium nuclear reactor by 2021. Other countries like India are planning to invest in thorium, as it is believed to be safer, cleaner, and more abundant than normal nuclear power (uranium-235). Studies by a company called ‘Seeker’ show that thorium power can be kept in a liquid form as a liquid fluoride thorium reactor (LFTR). They proved that it is more efficient, produces less toxic waste, and can be designed to shut down safely in case of an accident. You might be asking why did we not think of this earlier. Well, since the focus was on building nuclear arsenals, thorium was overlooked as it does not generate as much plutonium. The only issue with LFTR’s is finding a material that can resist the highly corrosive molten salts, however, the Shanghai scientists believe that they have developed alloys and coating materials that solve the major issue of corrosion in the reactors. If this experiment is successful, then it will highly benefit the considerations nationally and globally, otherwise nuclear power through uranium is safe for local means as it is dosed in smaller and less harmful amounts.

People fear nuclear radiation, these fears are understandable based on historical nuclear disasters but these fears can be alleviated if uranium-235 is replaced with thorium, less toxic waste will be produced, therefore, positively impacting climate change. Thorium reactors only have one negative aspect, which is finding a material that can resist the highly corrosive molten salts; this is already believed to be solved by the Shanghai scientists. Climate change however has multiple long-term issues such as temperatures rising, changes in precipitation patterns, increased droughts and heatwaves, more intense hurricanes, rising sea levels, and the arctic ice will eventually melt. Climate change poses far greater long-term risks than thorium nuclear energy. With no extra safety or accuracy concerns and its various positives like it being safer, cleaner, and abundant, thorium nuclear energy should be considered as a new substitute for uranium-powered energy. It is time to see thorium nuclear energy as a solution, not a risk.

The first nuclear bomb was developed in the early 1940s, and there have been a few cases where these weapons have been used. In those few cases, the damage these weapons caused has led to them being outlawed worldwide. So, if they have been globally banned then why do countries still have large stockpiles of these weapons? The most infamous event where nuclear weapons were used was probably World War II. In the final stage of the war, the United States detonated two atom bombs over the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The damage those caused to the cities was devastating at the time and still has to knock on effects today on the people living there. Collectively the two bombs killed around 140,000 people by the end of 1945. Women pregnant at the time suffered incredibly high miscarriage rates and there was a heavy death rate amongst the newly born infants. The effects felt nowadays are maybe just as horrific. It has significantly reduced the expected lifespan of the people living within the affected areas, there is a much higher than normal rate of people developing various types of thyroid and lung cancer. It is clear that the effects of these types of weapons are devastating on people but that is only the chemical side of the weapons. Without the weapons’ use of uranium, they have roughly the same power as 15,000 tons of TNT.

For comparison, a modern-day missile like a Tomahawk has 1000 pounds of explosives (which is around 0.5 tons) and the damage that one of these missiles can cause is pretty devastating considering it has a fraction of the power of an atom bomb. So, it’s fair to say on explosive power alone they are incredibly devastating to the area they hit. The Cold War is another example of where nuclear weapons were present but lucky, they weren’t used. The Cold War was mostly between Russian (the USSR at the time) and the United States, but it wasn’t like a war of conflict and more a war of wits and intelligence. Both countries were massive military powers at the time and because of this, they were at a constant stalemate because both countries had access to a nuclear arsenal but neither country used them because they feared the effects it could have on the people of the respective countries they were defending after seeing the effect that they had on Japan. Also, because if one side gave in and used a missile that would make it acceptable for the other country and its allies to retaliate. This would be enough to stop countries from producing nuclear weapons. Despite this, there are some countries still interested in the idea of nuclear weapons like Iran. In the past they have had a large number of sanctions placed on it mostly by the EU and United States, which resulted in the country being widely poverty-stricken, they got large limitations on the country’s ability to import and export goods which were also heavily regulated and monitored to the point where only the essentials were allowed through. But in more recent years the EU has been lifting all of the sanctions that they had previously been placed on the country, and whilst trump has been in office he has also lifted most of the sanctions that were placed on Iran by previous administrations. Since these sanctions were lifted this has now allowed Iran to start rebuilding its countries wealth. The president of Iran had a response to the actions taken by Trump which he responded with a warning that Iran could resume enriching uranium within a few weeks of the statement being mad if they so wished. This could mean that Iran is starting to build a nuclear arsenal of their own which would be a reason for other countries to have their own.

Although I think that it is more plausible that they are using them to gain a more political standing within the region, since due to the sanctions that had been placed on them prior they had been pushed to the side by the other country. This shows that these weapons have been used not only as a physical weapon and due to the image associated with them would make people more susceptible to being led by Iran due to the new threat they could pose. Morally we must also be questioning the rationality of nuclear weapons, especially if the leaders of a given country are condoning that it’s ok to use such extreme sanctions like nuclear weapons to threaten their enemies. At the beginning of the atomic age (around about the end of World War II), atomic bombs were initially designed to end the war and save numerous lives. By this, I mean that debatably, countless lives were saved in the long run due to the fact that once the bomb had been dropped over Hiroshima the Japanese basically surrendered right then and there. If they hadn’t surrendered then, the war possibly would have gone on for a lot longer afterward. In contrast to this, take a look at what nuclear weapons have become today, instead of saving people’s lives, atomic bombs are now being kept with the potential and maybe the intention of unnecessary mass murder. Nowadays most of the world’s military powers have their own nuclear arsenal but just like the Cold War, they aren’t used by anyone mostly for the same reasons. There’s also the Treaty of the Non-Proliferation which is an international treaty where the objective is to limit the spread and distribution of nuclear weapons and weapons technology and instead to promote global cooperation to use nuclear in more beneficial ways. Although almost every county in the world has signed the treaty to prohibit these weapons around 14 countries still have stockpiles (granted they might not be large stockpiles) of nuclear warheads. So why then do country’s still have them? There aren’t many good reasons for countries to still have them, we’ve all seen the effects that they can cause to the environment, infrastructure and life, so why are they still around? Well despite the best efforts in my research to find a good argument as to why we still have them I’ve come back with nothing.

So I can only assume that we have the most as a show of strength to ward of any country thinking of making a move on them, but that point in itself is redundant since all of the world’s largest militaries are the ones with these stockpiles and I’m pretty sure a country that doesn’t have those types of weapons would want to pick a fight with them. So I can’t understand why there is a need for these weapons when there doesn’t seem to be anyone defending the fact that there still here, this means we’re all just going to need to live with the fact that almost if not all of the world’s largest military’s powers have stockpiles of these weapons and they won’t be going away anytime soon.