The nuclear-energy tag has no wiki summary.
13
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2answers
350 views
Has nuclear power generation saved millions of lives from avoided air pollution?
In a recent paper in Environmental Science and Technology, Kharecha and Hansen argue that, by avoiding the airborne pollution that would have resulted from fossil fuel burning, millions of lives have ...
1
vote
1answer
346 views
Can the radioactive material on the Curiosity rover create risk to present or future life on Mars? [closed]
The Curiosity Rover has a nuclear generator / MMRTG, but I haven't seen any research describing if it is safe for present or future life on Mars.
If the casing of the generator were to be ...
3
votes
0answers
211 views
Could Iran produce a nuclear weapon in under a year if they wanted to?
For over 30 years, politicians from Israel and the US have said that "Iran will
have a nuclear weapon in less than a year". [Christian Science Monitor timeline of these warnings]
Some more examples:
...
38
votes
2answers
4k views
Is Fukushima reactor No. 4 on the verge of catastrophic failure that will destroy the world?
I was sent an email with a copied/pasted version of this NaturalNews article which contains the following quote (emphasis original):
Concerned about the 2012 U.S. presidential election? Worried ...
10
votes
1answer
239 views
“Photodeactivation” of nuclear waste
I don't know enough atomic physics to know whether this is even plausible or not:
Brown built a small prototype plant, which bombarded radioactive
elements with high energy photon radiation, in ...
9
votes
1answer
1k views
Does living near a nuclear power plant cause cancer?
One man who believes that nuclear energy is bad for nature told me that living near to a nuclear power plant causes cancer.
I visited one nuclear power plant and they confirmed the words of our ...
17
votes
1answer
425 views
Is nuclear power economically untenable?
One of the arguments I've seen levied against nuclear power is that it's not economically viable, so isn't a reasonable replacement for coal over wind, co-gen, etc.
For example, US nuclear power ...
10
votes
1answer
432 views
Is the Fukushima disaster causing an increase in infant mortality on the west coast of North America?
Here we've got a claim that infant mortality in select US cities on the west coast has increased by 35% since the nuclear meltdown. This claim is based on two data points:
4 weeks ending March ...
13
votes
1answer
646 views
Can thorium end the energy crisis?
It seems that, as of lately thorium is steadily increasing in popularity, as an alternative to traditional nuclear fuels. Here's Mr. Kirk Sorensen in a TED video advocating the use of thorium. ...
3
votes
1answer
850 views
Is the Rossi Focardi LENR true?
Italian inventor Andrea Rossi claims to have discovered cold fusion. There is a history of dis-proven discoveries in this area. How were they debunked and are the arguments applicable to the new case ...
8
votes
1answer
402 views
What is the safest nuclear fission plant alternative? [closed]
It seems that uranium based fission seems to have inherent safety problems associated with it's management:
leaks of fuel and waste
natural forces destabilising reactors
threat of terrorism
In ...
35
votes
2answers
3k views
Is Japan's nuclear disaster “on par” with Chernobyl?
Many news organizations (e.g. CNN, Huffington Post, etc) are referring to the Japan incident as something as severe as Chernobyl, i.e. a nuclear event with International Atomic Energy Agency rating ...
57
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4answers
3k views
Have several hundreds of thousands of people died because of the Chernobyl disaster?
The Wikipedia article on this is littered with [citation needed] and a commenter on hacker news linked to it while stating:
Chernobyl cost several hundred thousand lives. Let's hope and pray ...
11
votes
1answer
322 views
Is the net output of CO₂ from Nuclear Energy lower than the net output of other energy sources?
While CO2 is not produced directly when producing electricity from nuclear power, it is obvious that obtaining the radioactive material and preparing it for its use in a plant inevitably produces some ...
18
votes
2answers
3k views
Is nuclear fusion energy as safe as its proponents claim?
With my limited knowledge of the process of nuclear fusion energy, this seems like one of the most promising methods for producing huge amounts of energy, with relatively very low risk, once ...
9
votes
2answers
432 views
Has public faith in nuclear power decreased significantly after the Fukushima accident?
There seems to be a consensus in the media the the events in Fukushima have significantly decreased the public's approval of nuclear energy.
See for example this article by the Telegraph.
Is there ...
14
votes
5answers
2k views
Are there fewer accidental deaths at nuclear power plants than others?
I have seen the stats on this website saying that the number of death caused by nuclear accidents was way smaller then those caused by any other energy production factory. Do you have any information, ...
56
votes
3answers
23k views
Do coal plants release more radiation than nuclear power plants?
As a response to the desaster at the Fukushima nuclear power plant I've heard the claim that fossil-fuel power plants using coal release more radiation than a nuclear power plant. I searched for some ...
17
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3answers
1k views
Can a “second Chernobyl” happen at the nuclear reactors damaged by the tsunami in Japan?
In the media, you hear predictions that the events in the damaged nuclear power plants could be "the next Chernobyl", but this sounds like hyperbole to me. Are the events at those nuclear reactors ...
