Nuclear power splits opinion like nothing else. Many people are violently opposed to the very thought of building new nuclear power plants. The debates normally go like this:

Pro: Nuclear power generates huge amounts of energy, the fuel is abundant and the process does not emit greenhouse gases. We should build as much as possible.

Anti: Nuclear power is extremely dangerous, produces toxic waste, is very expensive and should be avoided at all costs.

The articles below should help you come to your own conclusions. I am on the pro side, but it would be foolish for me to ignore the negatives. I have done my utmost to ensure balance in my articles.

Articles

How nuclear power plants work

Advantages of nuclear power

Disadvantages of nuclear power

What is nuclear fission?

Nuclear Power Essay (written for physics undergrad degree)

Who am I?

My name is Michael, I'm a postgraduate student studying Environmental Technology, specialising in energy policy. I have an undergraduate degree in Physics.

I discovered my interest in energy during the second year of my Physics degree, in a module called "Environmental Physics". It was a very general course and covered topics which would be completely inappropriate here (dry adiabatic lapse rate, anyone?) but it was enough to make me want to learn more about the other aspects of energy and the environment, away from pure Physics.

This site, my postgraduate studies, and hopefully a career are due to that interest.

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Contact me

I welcome your comments, questions and criticisms (constructive, please!). You can contact me on the contact page.

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If there is demand for it, I would like to send a monthly newsletter with site updates, news from the world of energy and the environment and such. I promise not to send anything even resembling spam!

Please register your interest using the form on this page. If there is enough interest, I will endeavour to make it the best newsletter I can!

Recommended Reading: Sustainable Energy - without the hot air

Amazon UK

Amazon US

If there is one book I would recommend to clarify the energy issues we face, it would be "Sustainable Energy - without the hot air" by David MacKay. A physics professor at the University of Cambridge (UK), MacKay deals with the topic entirely from an analytical point of view.

This book is almost constantly open on my desk for reference; no other book I've read has come close to the clarity of this one. There is no politics, no social consideration or economics, just the plain numbers behind how much we use and how much each source of energy can give us.

Numbers don't lie. Don't worry about being told to change your lifestyle - another book will do that, no doubt. This one will give you the tools you need to come to informed conclusions about energy, and I cannot recommend it highly enough. If you buy a single book on the topic, make it this one.

You can see the book's website at withouthotair.com.