History of nuclear power

The first successful experiment with nuclear				due to Chinese expansion of nuclear power.
fission was conducted in 1938 in Berlin by				Between around 1970 and 1990, more than 50 GW
the German physicists Otto Hahn, Lise Meitner				of capacity was under construction (peaking
and Fritz Strassmann.				at over 150 GW in the late 70s and early 80s)
				â€” in 2005, around 25 GW of new
During the Second World War, a number of				capacity was planned. More than two-thirds of
nations embarked on crash programs to develop				all nuclear plants ordered after January 1970
nuclear energy, focusing first on the				were eventually cancelled.
development of nuclear reactors. The first
self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction was				The first organization to develop utilitarian
obtained at the University of Chicago by				nuclear power was the U.S. Navy, for the
Enrico Fermi on December 2, 1942, and				purpose of propelling submarines and aircraft
reactors based on his research were used to				carriers. It has a good record in nuclear
produce the plutonium necessary for the "Fat				safety, perhaps because of the stringent
Man" weapon dropped on Nagasaki, Japan.				demands of Admiral Hyman G. Rickover, who was
Several nations began their own construction				the driving force behind nuclear marine
of nuclear reactors at this point, primarily				propulsion. The U.S. Navy has operated more
for weapons use, though research was also				nuclear reactors than any other entity,
being conducted into their use for civilian				including the Soviet Navy, with no publicly
electricity generation.				known major incidents. Two U.S. nuclear
				submarines, USS Scorpion and Thresher, have
Electricity was generated for the first time				been lost at sea, though for reasons not
by a nuclear reactor on December 20, 1951 at				related to their reactors, and their wrecks
the EBR-I experimental fast breeder station				are situated such that the risk of nuclear
near Arco, Idaho, which initially produced				pollution is considered low.
about 100 kW. The Arco Reactor was also the
first to a partial melt down (in 1955).				During the 1970s and 1980s rising economic
				costs (related to vastly extended
In 1952, a report by the Paley Commission				construction times largely due to regulatory
(The President's Materials Policy Commission)				changes and pressure-group litigation) and
for President Harry Truman made a "relatively				falling fossil fuel prices made nuclear power
pessimistic" assessment of nuclear power, and				plants then under construction less
called for "aggressive research in the whole				attractive.
field of solar energy".[7]
				The 1973 oil crisis had a significant effect
A December 1953 speech by President Dwight				on the construction of nuclear power plants
Eisenhower, "Atoms for Peace", set the U.S.				worldwide. The oil embargo led to a global
on a course of strong government support for				economic recession and high inflation that
the international use of nuclear power.				both reduced the projected demand for new
				electric generation capacity in the United
Early years				States and made financing such capital
				intensive projects difficult. This
The Shippingport Atomic Power Station in				contributed to the cancellation of over 100
Shippingport, Pennsylvania was the first				reactor orders in the USA. Even so, the
commercial reactor in the USA and was opened				plants already under construction effectively
in 1957.				displaced oil for the generation of
				electricity. In 1973, oil generated 17% of
The Shippingport Atomic Power Station in				the electricity in the United States. Today,
Shippingport, Pennsylvania was the first				oil is a minor source of electric power
commercial reactor in the USA and was opened				(except in Hawaii), while nuclear power now
in 1957.				generates 20% of that country's electricity.
				The oil crisis caused other countries, such
On June 27, 1954, the world's first nuclear				as France and Japan, which had relied even
power plant to generate electricity for a				more heavily on oil for electric generation
power grid started operations at Obninsk,				(39% and 73% respectively) to invest heavily
USSR. The reactor was graphite moderated,				in nuclear power. Today, nuclear power
water cooled and had a capacity of 5				supplies about 80% and 30% of the electricity
megawatts (MW). It produced 5 megawatts				in those countries, respectively.
(electrical), enough to power 2,000 homes.
				In the 1980s (U.S.) and 1990s (Europe), flat
The world's first commercial nuclear power				load growth and electricity liberalization
station, Calder Hall in Sellafield, England				also made the addition of large new baseload
was opened in 1956, a gas-cooled Magnox				capacity unattractive.
reactor with an initial capacity of 50 MW
(later 200 MW).[10] The Shippingport Reactor				A general movement against nuclear power
(Pennsylvania, 1957), a pressurized water				arose during the last third of the 20th
reactor, was the first commercial nuclear				century, based on the fear of a possible
generator to become operational in the United				nuclear accident and on fears of radiation,
States.				and on the opposition to nuclear waste
				production, transport and final storage.
In 1954, the chairman of the United States				Perceived risks on the citizens' health and
Atomic Energy Commission (forerunner of the				safety, the 1979 accident at Three Mile
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission) talked				Island and the 1986 Chernobyl disaster played
about electricity being "too cheap to meter"				a part in stopping new plant construction in
in the future, often misreported as a				many countries. However, in the US new
concrete statement about nuclear power, and				construction dropped sharply before the Three
foresaw 1000 nuclear plants on line in the				Mile Island accident, after the 1973 oil
USA by the year 2000.				crises.

In 1955 the United Nations' "First Geneva				Unlike the Three Mile Island accident, the
Conference", then the world's largest				much more serious Chernobyl accident did not
gathering of scientists and engineers, met to				increase regulations affecting Western
explore the technology. In 1957 EURATOM was				reactors since the Chernobyl reactors were of
launched alongside the European Economic				the problematic RBMK design only used in the
Community (the latter is now the European				Soviet Union, for example lacking containment
Union). The same year also saw the launch of				buildings. An international organization to
the International Atomic Energy Agency				promote safety awareness and professional
(IAEA).				development on operators in nuclear
				facilities was created: WANO; World
Enrico Fermi and LeÃ³ SzilÃ¡rd in 1955				Association of Nuclear Operators.
shared U.S. Patent 2,708,656 for the nuclear
reactor.				Austria (1978), Sweden (1980) and Italy
				(1987) (influenced by Chernobyl) voted in
Development				referendums to oppose or phase out nuclear
				power, while opposition in Ireland prevented
Installed nuclear capacity initially rose				a nuclear program there. However, the
relatively quickly, rising from less than 1				Brookings Institution suggests that new
gigawatt (GW) in 1960 to 100 GW in the late				nuclear units have not been ordered in the US
1970s, and 300 GW in the late 1980s. Since				primarily for economic reasons rather than
the late 1980s capacity has risen much more				fears of accidents
slowly, reaching 366 GW in 2005, primarily

1 A B 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80

What is nuclear energy and how it is obtained

History of nuclear power