NUCLEAR POWER
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AN IMPORTANT SOURCE OF ENERGY TODAY
Highly developed,
demand for energy.
modern societies are founded on а huge
The level of exploitation and use of energy
represent, in this sense, the level of social and economic
development of a country.
Man has been using conventional energy sources such as
fossil fuels, wind and water power since the dawn of history. It
was only in the beginning of this century, however, as modern
science developed, that the nucleus of an atom was first
discovered to contain a vast and unparalleled amount of energy -
nuclear energy. This was a landmark in the history of human
discovery.
The rapid development of this new power source, nuclear
power, began immediately after its discovery. The capacity of the
first nuclear power station, in 1954, was very small. Now,
thirty years later, there are 375 commercial nuclear power
stations in operation throughout the world. Their total installed
capacity is some 260,000 megawatts. They produce about 15% of the
world's electricity. Nuclear power has become one of the three
mainstays of today's electricity supply, along with thermal power
and hydroelectricity. Gigantic systems of education, scientific
research, industry and commerce have evolved around nuclear
energy throughout the world.
The development of nuclear energy is still in the ascendant.
The pressurized water reactor, which represents the first
generation of nuclear power stations, is now
technologically
mature, and is developing rapidly. Model reactors on a commercial
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