Achievement Standard Physics 91527: Use physics knowledge to develop an informed response to a socio-scientific issue
Physics 3.7, Credits 3
Given that hydrocarbons can no longer be used as a source of electrical energy due to green house gas emissions:
"Should the world use nuclear power generation as a clean green renewable power source?"
This Standard will be assess at Greymouth High School Library Annex with Buller High School and John Paul II High School on Wednesday 13th April 2016, last week of Term I.
This video sets out the basic problem: Does the World Need Nuclear Energy?
How does a Nuclear Power Station Work?
PWR Reactor
BWR Reactor
CANDU Reactor
VVER Reactor
RBMK Reactor
Nuclear Energy Explained
Three Reasons Why Nuclear Energy is Terrible
Three Reasons Why Nuclear Energy is Awesome
How bad is it really?
How the Laws of Physics Constrain our Energy Options
Ex 10, p.189-198 Modern Physics - this will be assessed on Friday 4th March and covered the Modern Physics Topic Phy 3.5 AS 91525. This topic will be assessed in Week 8.
Electron Volts:
Some people have been getting confused by electron volts eV.
An electron volt is the amount of energy needed to move an electron through one volt of electrical potential.
Recall electrical potential energy:
Ep
= qV
q: Charge in Coulombs (C)
V: Voltage in Volts (V)
The charge of one electron e = 1.60
x 10-19 C
So the energy reqired to move one electron through one volt is:
1.60
x 10-19 C x 1 V = 1.60 x 10-19 J
so 1eV = 1.60 x 10-19 J
Using eV for energy is just a way of showing the small energies involved in one or few particle reactions.
Always use energy in Joules when calculating. This is the S.I. unit for energy.