![]() What will happen to the spent fuel? The 2015 Nuclear Fuel Cycle Royal Commission found commercial viability for long-term radioactive waste storage and disposal facilities in South Australia. While Australia has an ample supply of uranium in the ground, it lacks the capacity to enrich or fabricate the reactor fuel, which could be sourced from overseas. With its dedicated training programs offered by world-class universities and government agencies, Australia is well situated to meet the increasing demands in this space, and will also benefit from existing UK and US expertise through the new trilateral security pact.Īt this stage, details on where the fuel would be sourced are unclear. Each nuclear submarine typically costs several billion dollars to build, and requires a highly skilled workforce with expertise in nuclear science. That means nuclear submarines can stay submerged at deep depths for months at a time, giving them better stealth capabilities and allowing for longer, more remote deployments. What's more, unlike conventional fuel combustion, nuclear reactions do not require air. The high efficiency of nuclear power also enables these submarines to operate at high speed for longer periods than conventional diesel-electric submarines. When one of them enters into service, it will be commissioned with enough uranium fuel to last more than 30 years. ![]() One huge advantage of nuclear-powered submarines is they do not require refueling. What are the pros and cons of going nuclear? In turn, more neutrons are released and the process continues in a so-called "nuclear chain reaction." The energy is given off as heat, which can be used to drive turbines that generate electricity for the submarine. Inside the reactor, uranium-235 is bombarded with neutrons, causing some of the nuclei to undergo nuclear fission. The degree of fuel enrichment is a crucial factor in maintaining a chain reaction that gives a consistent, safe level of energy output. For submarines, this is typically about 50%. Natural uranium mined from the ground consists mainly of an isotope called uranium-238, mixed with small amounts (0.7%) of the key isotope uranium-235.įor the reactor to work, the uranium fuel has to be "enriched" to contain the desired proportion of uranium-235. Reactors in a nuclear-powered submarine are typically fuelled with uranium. The amount of energy released is immense, as we can see from Einstein's famous equation, E = mc², which tells us the energy is equal to the change in mass multiplied by the square of the speed of light! Some very heavy nuclei are highly susceptible to a process known as nuclear fission, whereby they split into two lighter nuclei with a total mass less than the original nucleus. The number of protons defines what chemical element that atom belongs to nuclei with the same number of protons but varying numbers of neutrons are called isotopes of that element. Similarly, each nuclear submarine draws power from its own miniature onboard nuclear reactor.Īt the heart of every atom is an atomic nucleus, made of protons and neutrons. Nuclear reactors inside power stations have been powering homes and industry across the world for 70 years. In the early days of atomic research, scientists rapidly realized the huge amounts of energy released by "splitting the atom" can be harnessed to generate electricity. The key difference lies in the way they are powered. On the surface, they look like any other submarine. So what is "nuclear" about a nuclear submarine? The first thing to say is that a nuclear-powered submarine is not a nuclear weapon. Research into nuclear-based propulsion of marine vessels began in the 1940s with the dawn of the "nuclear age." Since then, only six nations have owned and operated nuclear submarines: China, France, India, Russia, the UK and the US.Ĭonsidering Australia has just torn up a A$90 billion contract to construct a new arsenal of conventional submarines, yesterday's announcement will probably come as a surprise to many.
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