ENERGY FOR FUTURE PRESIDENTS (CHAPTER 1)

Muller, Richard A. Energy for Future Presidents: The Science Behind the Headlines. New York: W. W. Norton and Company, 2012.

The print version of this book is 368 pages in length.

In this book, the author presents section lessons to future presidents on various sectors of energy use and alternative energy prospects with a goal of clarifying, correcting, and expanding on information behind the news headlines.  From the author’s perspective, the president has the responsibility to be knowledgeable about these areas and that he or she should be a “teacher” to the public when it comes to using information that go beyond the news headlines to make informed decisions about energy. He tackles a wide-ranging list of energy and energy-related topics including: energy-related disasters, global warming, shale oil, alternatives to transportation fuel,

From http://books.wwnorton.com/books/Author.aspx?id=8648 (Accessed May 15, 2015):

Richard A. Muller is a professor of physics at the University of California, Berkeley. He is the best-selling author of Physics for Future Presidents and The Instant Physicist. He and his wife live in Berkeley, California.

READING NOTES

PART I: ENERGY CATASTROPHES

·         Energy use in the United States alone is huge: about 20 million barrels of oil each day. Because of these huge numbers, energy accidents normally make it on the news in a big way as well.

·         In this section, the author tackles 3 major energy catastrophes and offers facts and a suggestion on how to interpret the ramifications of these accidents.

·         “We need to get our facts right, put the consequences in perspective, clear up misimpressions, and get to the core of what really happened, or is still to happen.”

Chapter 1: Fukushima Meltdown

•      In March 2011, a huge earthquake measuring 9.0 on the Richter scale hit Japan generating a tsunami 30 feet high and up to 50 feet in some places.  About 15,000 people died and 100,000 buildings destroyed.

•      One of the recipients of the huge amount of energy unleashed by this earthquake through a 50-foor tsunami is the Fukushima Nuclear Reactor. At the site, two people died due to the earthquake and 1 due to the tsunami. No known deaths were reported due to the nuclear meltdown that ensued as a result of the impact.

•      Nuclear energy releases are huge: fission of an atom of Uranium 235 can produce 20 million times the energy released in the decomposition of a molecule of TNT.

•      Along with energy, high energy neutrons are also released which is the basis for the enormously rapid and huge energy explosions that fissile material is capable of.  In a nuclear reactor, the energy production must be moderated: only 4% of the uranium fuel is uranium-235 and neutron absorbers such as carbon or water are employed to slow down the reaction (only one of the emitted neutron triggers a new fission) but still maintain a steady release of energy.

•      Reactivity accidents result from runaway chain reactions when the process undergoes uncontrolled fission, which starts slowly at first and builds-up to an energy density that then results in a powerful explosion.

•      In the Chernobyl reactivity accident of 1986, what killed most people was the radioactivity released and not the reactor explosion. In the Fukushima incident, the reactor did not explode and pumps kept working to cool down the heat produced from the residual radioactivity after the reactor shutdown upon impact. The cooling pumps stopped working after 8 hours without any external source of power to keep it going due to the loss of electricity because of extensive infrastructure failure.  Without the cooling pumps, the fuel overheated and melted resulting in a release of radioactivity second only to the Chernobyl accident.

•      The most dangerous radioactivity released is that from iodine – 131 and cesium – 137. I – 131 has a half-life of 8 days and decays rapidly releasing radioactivity as it does making it the biggest source of radioactivity initially.  When it enters the body, it accumulates in the thyroid where it can cause cancer.  I – 131 absorption by body can be mitigated by taking potassium iodide; normal iodine from this salt saturates the thyroid and prevents or slows down the absorption of the radioactive isotope.

•      Cs – 137decays more slowly so its initial impact is lower but it lasts longer.  Its half-life is 30 years.

•      Sr – 90 also undergoes a slow decay. The slow decay means they are around longer and can deposit and accumulate in plants and animals that are consumed, concentrating in bones.

•      An exposure of 100 rem or more will cause immediate radioactive illness (nausea, weakness, loss of hair); at 250-350 rem, 50% chance of death if untreated.