Ever since 1945, we have been living in a nuclear age. Presently, much controversy revolves around nuclear physics. Some people want to see the nuclear industry grow. Others think that nuclear reactors and weapons should be no part of humankind. Some people also want to keep things the way it is right now. If you want to know more about the present, then read on.
Many countries have recently acquired nuclear weapons or are close to developing them. These countries include North Korea, Israel, South Africa, India, Iraq, Iran, Syria, Libya, Algeria, and Pakistan. There is an overhwhelming fear of mass destruction because of the large degree of nuclear proliferation. The current treaties and organizations which attempt to ensure the safety of the world from nuclear weapons include the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty and the International Atomic Energy Agency.
There will be much more debate about the consequences of nuclear proliferation. Some will argue that all nuclear weapons should be disposed of, where others will argue that the current international treaties and organizations will suffice to maintain the safety of the world from nuclear weapons.
There is also a fairly substantial fear that nuclear weapons might fall into the hands of terrorists. With so many recent acts of terrorism, many people fear the worst if these weapons of mass destruction are acquired by terrorists.
There are currently around two hundred nuclear power plants in the world which supply about one sixth of the world's energy. Because of disasters such as Chernobyl and Three Mile Island, more stringent safety laws and more effective safety mechanisms have been implemented. Because there haven't been any new power plants constructed recently and nuclear reactors only have a forty to fifty year lifetime, plans are being considered to replace dying power plants.
Currently, all nuclear energy is harnessed by the principle of nuclear fission. There is research being done to harness energy by means of nuclear fusion. As evidenced by the hydrogen bomb as opposed to the atomic bomb, nuclear fusion has the potential to generate much more energy.
The construction of the multi-billion dollar waste management investment Yucca Mountain is still continuing, with completion expected in the year 2010. Prompted by disasters such as the waste explosion at Russia's Ural Mountains, one of the main goal of this site will be safety.
There exists much controversy about future site selection for waste sites. Nobody wants a nuclear waste site in their backyard, but they have to be built somewhere. And, of course, there can never be an absolute guarantee of safety. There is always some risk.
In the present, there is still no way quantitatively tell how much radiation a person has been exposed to. The best way right now is just an examination of symptoms. However, many symptoms don't show up until days or weeks after the exposure, so many doctors and hospitals waste their time on patients with exposure to fatal amounts. Computer aided tomography (CAT) and Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) imaging can help doctors locate where the radiation occurs in the body and what type of radiation it is.
The current methods to treat patients with radioactive-dose-inflicted diseases (particularly cancers) are by replacement and chemotherapy. Although fairly effective, it is often hard to find possible donors and additionally, the body might reject the transplant. However, the success rate is low enough to definitely warrant further research.
Currently understood relevant nuclear physical principles include:
There are theories in developmental stages which hope to create a unified picture of the fundamental forces of nature: