Introduction 1
1.Energy use 4
1.1 Sources of energy 4
1.2 Sustainability of energy 4
1.3 Energy demand 5
1.4 Energy supply 5
1.5 Changes in energy demand and supply 6
1.6 Future energy demand and supply 7
2.Electricity today and tomorrow 10
2.1 Electricity demand 10
2.2 Electricity supply 11
2.3 Fuels for electricity generation today 14
2.4 Provision for future base-load electricity 15
2.5 Renewable energy sources 18
2.6 Coal and uranium compared 21
2.7 Energy inputs to generate electricity 22
2.8 Economic factors 24
3.Nuclear power and its fuels 26
3.1 Mass to energy in the reactor core 26
3.2 Nuclear power reactors - basic design 27
Panel：Components common to most types of nuclear reactor 28
3.3 Uranium availability 31
3.4 Nuclear weapons as a source of fuel 33
3.5 Thorium as a nuclear fuel 35
3.6 Accelerator-driven systems 35
3.7 Physics of a nuclear reactor 36
4.Types of nuclear power reactor 42
4.1 Today’s power reactors 42
4.2 Advanced power reactors 43
4.3 Floating nuclear power plants 45
4.4 Modular light water reactors 45
4.5 High temperature reactors 46
4.6 Fast neutron reactors 48
4.7 Very small nuclear power reactors 51
5.The ‘front end’ of the nuclear fuel cycle 52
5.1 Mining and milling of uranium ore 52
5.2 The nuclear fuel cycle 54
Panel：Uranium enrichment 56
5.3 Thorium cycle 59
6.The ‘back end’ of the nuclear fuel cycle 60
6.1 Nuclear wastes 60
6.2 Reprocessing used fuel 63
6.3 High-level wastes from reprocessing 65
Panel：Transporting radioactive materials 65
6.4 Storage and disposal of high-level wastes 68
6.5 Decommissioning nuclear reactors 71
7.Other nuclear energy applications 74
7.1 Transport 74
7.2 Hydrogen production and use 75
7.3 Process heat 79
7.4 Desalination 80
7.5 Marine propulsion 81
7.6 Radioisotope systems and reactors for space 84
7.7 Research reactors，making radioisotopes 86
8.Environment，health and safety 90
8.1 Greenhouse gas emissions 90
8.2 Other environmental effects 91
8.3 Health effects of power generation 93
8.4 Radiation exposure 95
8.5 Reactor safety 98
9.Avoiding weapons proliferation 104
9.1 International cooperation to achieve security 104
9.2 International nuclear safeguards 105
9.3 Fissile materials 108
9.4 Recycling military uranium and plutonium for electricity 110
9.5 Australian and Canadian nuclear safeguards policies 111
10.History of nuclear energy 114
10.1 Exploring the nature of the atom 114
10.2 Harnessing nuclear fission 115
10.3 Nuclear physics in Russia 116
10.4 Conceiving the atomic bomb 116
10.5 Developing the concepts：bomb and boiler 117
10.6 The Manhattan Project 118
10.7 The Soviet bomb 119
10.8 Revival of the ‘nuclear boiler’ 121
10.9 Nuclear energy goes commercial 122
10.10 The nuclear power renaissance 122
Appendices 124
1.Ionising radiation and how it is measured 124
2.Some radioactive decay series 126
3.Environmental and ethical aspects of radioactive waste management 127
4.Some useful references 128
Glossary 129
Index 135