Category Physics

WHAT IS NUCLEAR POWER AND ENERGY?

An atom is the building block of all matter. Nuclear energy is the energy that exists at the core of the atom called the nucleus. Nuclear energy can be accessed through two kinds of atomic reactions nuclear fission and nuclear fusion. In the first reaction, atoms are broken apart whereas in the latter they are forced to fuse together. However, to date, nuclear power plants do not have a safe and reliable way to generate energy through nuclear fusion. Therefore, nuclear reactors use uranium as fuel to produce energy by nuclear fission.

World nuclear power

Nuclear power provides almost 15 percent of the world’s electricity. The first nuclear power plants, which were small demonstration facilities, were built in the 1960s. These prototypes provided “proof-of-concept” and laid the groundwork for the development of the higher-power reactors that followed.

The nuclear power industry went through a period of remarkable growth until about 1990, when the portion of electricity generated by nuclear power reached a high of 17 percent. That percentage remained stable through the 1990s and began to decline slowly around the turn of the 21st century, primarily because of the fact that total electricity generation grew faster than electricity from nuclear power while other sources of energy (particularly coal and natural gas) were able to grow more quickly to meet the rising demand. This trend appears likely to continue well into the 21st century. The Energy Information Administration (EIA), a statistical arm of the U.S. Department of Energy, has projected that world electricity generation between 2005 and 2035 will roughly double (from more than 15,000 terawatt-hours to 35,000 terawatt-hours) and that generation from all energy sources except petroleum will continue to grow.

In 2012 more than 400 nuclear reactors were in operation in 30 countries around the world, and more than 60 were under construction. The United States has the largest nuclear power industry, with more than 100 reactors; it is followed by France, which has more than 50. Of the top 15 electricity-producing countries in the world, all but two, Italy and Australia, utilize nuclear power to generate some of their electricity. The overwhelming majority of nuclear reactor generating capacity is concentrated in North America, Europe, and Asia. The early period of the nuclear power industry was dominated by North America (the United States and Canada), but in the 1980s that lead was overtaken by Europe. The EIA projects that Asia will have the largest nuclear capacity by 2035, mainly because of an ambitious building program in China.

A typical nuclear power plant has a generating capacity of approximately one gigawatt (GW; one billion watts) of electricity. At this capacity, a power plant that operates about 90 percent of the time (the U.S. industry average) will generate about eight terawatt-hours of electricity per year. The predominant types of power reactors are pressurized water reactors (PWRs) and boiling water reactors (BWRs), both of which are categorized as light water reactors (LWRs) because they use ordinary (light) water as a moderator and coolant. LWRs make up more than 80 percent of the world’s nuclear reactors, and more than three-quarters of the LWRs are PWRs.

Issues affecting nuclear power

Countries may have a number of motives for deploying nuclear power plants, including a lack of indigenous energy resources, a desire for energy independence, and a goal to limit greenhouse gas emissions by using a carbon-free source of electricity. The benefits of applying nuclear power to these needs are substantial, but they are tempered by a number of issues that need to be considered, including the safety of nuclear reactors, their cost, the disposal of radioactive waste, and a potential for the nuclear fuel cycle to be diverted to the development of nuclear weapons. All of these concerns are discussed below.

Safety

The safety of nuclear reactors has become paramount since the Fukushima accident of 2011. The lessons learned from that disaster included the need to (1) adopt risk-informed regulation, (2) strengthen management systems so that decisions made in the event of a severe accident are based on safety and not cost or political repercussions, (3) periodically assess new information on risks posed by natural hazards such as earthquakes and associated tsunamis, and (4) take steps to mitigate the possible consequences of a station blackout.

Credit : Britannica 

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HOW DOES AN LED WORK?

LED stands for Light-emitting diode. It is a semiconductor device that emits light when an electric current flows through it. Unlike others lights, LEDS never dim with time and have an extended lifespan that can last a couple of years. They also do not contain poisonous gases like mercury that are commonly used to make the traditional lights. These energy-efficient bulbs are made up of glass and aluminum, which can be recovered by recycling and used to create other products.

The LED is a specialised form of PN junction that uses a compound junction. The semiconductor material used for the junction must be a compound semiconductor. The commonly used semiconductor materials including silicon and germanium are simple elements and junction made from these materials do not emit light. Instead compound semiconductors including gallium arsenide, gallium phosphide and indium phosphide are compound semiconductors and junctions made from these materials do emit light.

These compound semiconductors are classified by the valence bands their constituents occupy. For gallium arsenide, gallium has a valency of three and arsenic a valency of five and this is what is termed a group III-V semiconductor and there are a number of other semiconductors that fit this category. It is also possible to have semiconductors that are formed from group III-V materials.

The light emitting diode emits light when it is forward biased. When a voltage is applied across the junction to make it forward biased, current flows as in the case of any PN junction. Holes from the p-type region and electrons from the n-type region enter the junction and recombine like a normal diode to enable the current to flow. When this occurs energy is released, some of which is in the form of light photons.

It is found that the majority of the light is produced from the area of the junction nearer to the P-type region. As a result the design of the diodes is made such that this area is kept as close to the surface of the device as possible to ensure that the minimum amount of light is absorbed in the structure.

To produce light which can be seen the junction must be optimised and the correct materials must be chosen. Pure gallium arsenide releases energy in the infra read portion of the spectrum. To bring the light emission into the visible red end of the spectrum aluminium is added to the semiconductor to give aluminium gallium arsenide (AlGaAs). Phosphorus can also be added to give red light. For other colours other materials are used. For example gallium phoshide gives green light and aluminium indium gallium phosphide is used for yellow and orange light. Most LEDs are based on gallium semiconductors.

Credit : Electronics notes 

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WHAT IS INFRARED RADIATION?

Infrared radiation or infrared light is a radiant energy that is invisible to the human eyes, but can be felt as heat. It is a type of electromagnetic radiation spectrum with frequencies being produced when atoms absorb and release energy. The two most obvious sources of infrared light are the sun and fire.

Every object in the universe can emit IR radiation at some level and the most well-known sources are fire and the sun.

IR is a kind of electromagnetic radiation wherein frequencies in a continuum get produced as atoms that release and absorb energy.

It can go from the lowest to the highest frequency.

Included in electromagnetic radiation are radio waves, microwaves, infrared radiation, gamma rays, X-rays, visible light, and ultraviolet radiation.

When these kinds of radiation go together, they create the electromagnetic spectrum.

According to NASA, William Herschel, a well-known British astronomer, discovered infrared light in the year 1800.

He had an experiment that could measure how the colors in the visible spectrum have different temperatures.

He had thermometers placed in the light path of every color in the visible spectrum and was able to observe the temperature increase when it went from blue to red.

William also discovered that the measurement of warmer temperature was beyond the visible spectrum’s red end.

Infrared waves happen at frequencies above the microwaves in the electromagnetic spectrum.

They are just below the visible red light, which is why they are called “infrared.”

As per Caltech or the California Institute of Technology, compared to visible light, infrared radiation has longer waves.

The IR frequencies can range from around 300 GHz to approximately 400 THz, with wavelengths estimated to have a range from 1,000 micrometers to 760 nanometers.

However, according to NASA, these values may not be definitive.

Just like the visible spectrum of light that ranges from the longest wavelength of red to the shortest visible light wavelength of violet, infrared radiation comes with a range of wavelengths of its own.

According to NASA, the “far-infrared” waves are longer and closer to the electromagnetic spectrum’s microwave section.

You can feel this as intense heat that is the same as the heat from fire or sunlight.

“Near-infrared” waves that are shorter can be closer to the electromagnetic spectrum’s visible light.

Aside from that, it does not emit detectable heat like what the television’s remote control discharges whenever it changes the channels.

One of the ways you can have heat transferred between two places is IR radiation.

Conduction and convection are the other two.

Everything that has a temperature of more than -268°C or -450°F can emit IR radiation.

As per the University of Tennessee, half of the sun’s total energy is emitted as IR and most of the visible light of a star can get re-emitted and absorbed as IR.

Credit : IRDA

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DOES ELECTROMAGNETIC FORCE IS GREATER THAN THE FORCE OF GRAVITY?

A small horseshoe magnet can pick up a pin from the ground. Does this mean that the electromagnetic force is greater than the force of gravity?The electromagnetic force is millions of times stronger than the force of gravity. Gravity, in fact, is the weakest of the four fundamental forces in the Universe. But whereas the other three forces – electromagnetism and ‘strong’ and weak nuclear forces – act only on the minute particles that make up atoms, gravity acts on a cosmic scale, holding whole galaxies together.

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WHAT IS GRAVITATIONAL SINGULARITY?

A gravitational singularity, spacetime singularity or simply singularity is a condition in which gravity is so intense that spacetime itself breaks down catastrophically. As such, a singularity is by definition no longer part of the regular spacetime and cannot be determined by “where” or “when”. Trying to find a complete and precise definition of singularities in the theory of general relativity, the current best theory of gravity, remains a difficult problem. A singularity in general relativity can be defined by the scalar invariant curvature becoming infinite or, better, by a geodesic being incomplete.

Gravitational singularities are mainly considered in the context of general relativity, where density apparently becomes infinite at the center of a black hole, and within astrophysics and cosmology as the earliest state of the universe during the Big Bang/White Hole. Physicists are undecided whether the prediction of singularities means that they actually exist (or existed at the start of the Big Bang), or that current knowledge is insufficient to describe what happens at such extreme densities.

General relativity predicts that any object collapsing beyond a certain point (for stars this is the Schwarzschild radius) would form a black hole, inside which a singularity (covered by an event horizon) would be formed. The Penrose–Hawking singularity theorems define a singularity to have geodesics that cannot be extended in a smooth manner. The termination of such a geodesic is considered to be the singularity.

The initial state of the universe, at the beginning of the Big Bang, is also predicted by modern theories to have been a singularity. In this case, the universe did not collapse into a black hole, because currently-known calculations and density limits for gravitational collapse are usually based upon objects of relatively constant size, such as stars, and do not necessarily apply in the same way to rapidly expanding space such as the Big Bang. Neither general relativity nor quantum mechanics can currently describe the earliest moments of the Big Bang, but in general, quantum mechanics does not permit particles to inhabit a space smaller than their wavelengths.

Credit : Wikipedia 

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WHAT ARE THE FOUR FUNDAMENTAL FORCES OF NATURE?

The Four Fundamental Forces of Nature are Gravitational force, Weak Nuclear force, Electromagnetic force and Strong Nuclear force. The Four Fundamental Forces of Nature are Gravitational force, Weak Nuclear force, Electromagnetic force and Strong Nuclear force.

Gravitational Force

The gravitational force is weak but very long-ranged. Furthermore, it is always attractive. It acts between any two pieces of matter in the Universe since mass is its source.

Weak Nuclear Force

The weak force is responsible for radioactive decay and neutrino interactions. It has a very short range and. As its name indicates, it is very weak. The weak force causes Beta-decay ie. the conversion of a neutron into a proton, an electron and an antineutrino.

Electromagnetic Force

The electromagnetic force causes electric and magnetic effects such as the repulsion between like electrical charges or the interaction of bar magnets. It is long-ranged but much weaker than the strong force. It can be attractive or repulsive and acts only between pieces of matter carrying an electrical charge. Electricity, magnetism, and light are all produced by this force.

Strong Nuclear Force

The strong interaction is very strong but very short-ranged. It is responsible for holding the nuclei of atoms together. It is basically attractive but can be effectively repulsive in some circumstances. The strong force is ‘carried’ by particles called gluons; that is, when two particles interact through the strong force, they do so by exchanging gluons. Thus, the quarks inside of the protons and neutrons are bound together by the exchange of the strong nuclear force.

Note:  While they are close together the quarks experience little force, but as they separate the force between them grows rapidly, pulling them back together. To separate two quarks completely would require far more energy than any possible particle accelerator could provide.

Credit : Clearias

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