Uses and Abuses of Nuclear Energy

Mankind felt the impact of nuclear energy for the first time in 1945, when two atom bombs wiped out Hiroshima and Nagasaki in just under ten minutes. Since then, nuclear weapons, more powerful than the earlier ones, have been developed by the scientists. International ballistic missiles, rockets and many other destructive weapons have also been invented. A race is constantly going on among the powerful nations to achieve nuclear supremacy and in the pursuit of this superiority a situation has arisen when there are weapons to wipe out this planet within a few seconds. We are practically living on a nuclear volcano. Any accidental switch on to a push button will lead this world to a nuclear war, reducing this planet to a heap of radioactive dust. Even those who will survive will be totally crippled, falling victims of incurable diseases arising out of radioactive fallout. This just indicates how nuclear energy could be abused for the destruction of mankind. The huge money spent on this accounts thus goes waste.

Nuclear energy, on the other hand, could be utilized for immense benefit of mankind. The main use of nuclear power has so far been in generating electricity. The tremendous heat released during nuclear fission is utilized for running nuclear power plants to produce electricity. Nuclear energy is also used for ship propulsion for a long period without refueling. This has enabled submarines to sail under the polar regions and unearth vast deposits of mineral resources that may last for several centuries. Radioactivity can help in pest control, preservation of food, agriculture and biological research. Radio isotopes and radiation are used in incurable diseases like cancer, blood disorder etc. Pace maker, the miracle instrument, saving the lives of millions of heart patients runs on small batteries charged with nuclear power. Nuclear power today is, therefore, a great tool that could be utilized for the benefit of mankind.