People often overlook the incredible potential of nuclear energy. Since such nuclear reactor disasters as Chernobyl and Three Mile Island, humans have been reluctant to explore the amazing capabilities of nuclear energy to provide energy with reduced cost in both money and in greenhouse gas emissions. Golay has devoted his career to the possibilities.
The lecture on the future of nuclear energy was sponsored by the Physics Department in conjunction with Professor of Physics Larry Hunter's course, Energy, devoted to understanding alternative sources of energy. Golay is also the Chairman of the Fission Facility at MIT and co-author of the authoritative textbook on sustainable energy.
"I thought the presentation was extremely informative, both about the technical aspects of nuclear energy and the political viability of nuclear energy in America in the future," explained Mark Yarchoan '07, a student in Professor Hunter's class. "I was impressed with how the speaker was able to discuss the political fallout of the Chernobyl accident and other nuclear events. The speaker made me feel much better about the safety of nuclear power, much more comfortable about the idea of nuclear power in America."
The first slide of Golay's PowerPoint presentation outlined questions he sought to answer during the discussion. Golay explained that most industrialized countries use nuclear power today and that East Asian countries will intensify development in the future. Large-scale, high-temperature breeder reactors with the potential to "relieve" global warming and such technology will only develop and be implemented if governments devote interest to the issue. "The whole question of what kind of energies we are going to use in the future is economic as well as social," Golay posited. He outlined important factors that will compel people towards thinking about nuclear energy such as global warming, frequent Middle East wars and the "volatile and increasing fossil fuel prices."
The fission of uranium in nuclear reactors when done right produces energy at a magnitude of 100,000,000 times greater than oil, all without the fossil fuel emissions that are destroying the ozone layer and warming the globe. Uranium is also cheaper than oil and more abundant, and will diminish America's reliance on the Middle East for its energy needs.
However, one drawback of a nuclear program is the plutonium created as a byproduct of nuclear reactions, and the dangers of its falling into the hands of terrorists. Currently, nuclear waste fission products are stored in secure facilities near the reactors above ground. Governments are unwilling to deposit waste deep within the earth because they are unable to ensure that dangerous chemicals will stay out of the biosphere.
While increased employment of nuclear technologies has been put on hold in the United States, external factors may convince the government to overlook the negative aspects of nuclear power, such as radiation and waste, in favor of the good. However, Golay explained, "The U.S. doesn't have a mechanism to make centralized decisions about what the nuclear economy is going to be," unlike countries such as China, so decision-making is stalled.
Professor Hunter was very pleased with the presentation as it "covered a lot of interesting aspects of nuclear energy." He explained that the presentation taught him that the "nuclear waste issue has been blown out of proportion." Hunter also thought that Golay provided an "interesting perspective on the regulatory environment," he said. "It only took a vocal minority to derail projects in the United States," which reminded him of his own troubled attempt to help his town government install a wind turbine for its town hall.
Regarding nuclear energy's future, "It's really not the hardware," Golay explained. "It's getting people to do things that are really beyond our nature."