70 years of Read On: Nuclear energy in the August issue

Man sieht es ihr nicht an, aber die Read On wird dieses Jahr 70! Dieses Jubiläum nehmen wir zum Anlass, auf die vergangenen sieben Jahrzehnte zurückzublicken. Dazu stöbern wir in unseren Archiven und veröffentlichen jeden Monat im Jahr 2023 einen Artikel aus einer Read-On-Ausgabe der letzten 70 Jahre. Da die Read On aber noch lange nicht old school ist, gibt es dazu einen frischen, neuen Blick auf das Thema aus dem Hier und Jetzt – ganz new school. In der aktuellen Ausgabe der Read On geht es um Möglichkeiten der Stromerzeugung. Denn schon im Jahr 1959 war klar, dass fossile Brennstoffe endlich sind. Auch heute wird wieder über Kernenergie debattiert – lesen Sie selbst.

OLD SCHOOL (1959)

More Power to the World

1                 A century ago, coal, oil, and natural gas supplied 5 per cent of the world’s energy. Today these fuels supply 93 per cent of the world’s energy. Wood, coal, and oil have served us well, but the supply of fuels is limited. According to estimates, our total fossil fuel reserves will run out between the years 2000 and 2050. Oil and gas will disappear first, coal last. Scientists are working to make them produce more energy. But will they learn how to maintain a high standard of living on other energy sources after cheap fossil fuels are gone?

2                 Important renewable sources are wood fuel, wind, water power, and solar heat. More promising are nuclear fuels. Small quantities of nuclear materials have a very high energy output. The demand for fuels is growing; nations in Asia and Africa are trying to build modern systems of industry. Energy is everywhere around us. We now create heat from coal or oil, but heat can also be found in an ice cube. Electrons can be taken from the air to form electricity. The scientists are looking from the atom to the face of the sun to find new ways of getting the energy we need.

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Den vollständigen Artikel lesen Sie in der aktuellen Ausgabe der Read On.

Vocabulary

0–1             power (Strom-)Kraft, Energie(erzeuger) — natural gas Erdgas — fuel Treib-, Brennstoff — to supply liefern — to serve s.o. well (fig) jdm. gute Dienste leisten — supply Vorrat — according to gemäß, nach — estimate Schätzung — to run out zu Ende sein, sich erschöpfen — to disappear verschwinden, aufhören — scientist Wissenschaftler(in) — to maintain aufrechterhalten — source Quelle

2                 renewable erneuerbar — wood fuel Energieholz — solar heat Sonnenwärme — promising vielversprechend — nuclear fuel Kernbrennstoff — quantity Menge — material Stoff, Element — output Ertrag, Leistung — demand Nachfrage — system of industry h.: Industrie — ice cube Eiswürfel — electron negativ geladenes Elementarteilchen, das Bestandteil jedes Atomverbandes ist — to form h.: erzeugen

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NEW SCHOOL (Today)

Rolls-Royce to build UK’s first small modular reactor

NUCLEAR ENERGY

The British engineering company wants the nuclear reactor to generate power by 2029.

By Siobhan Bruns

1                 After having been out of favour for years, nuclear energy has been making a comeback because many think it can help in the fight against climate change. Nuclear power generation does not produce carbon dioxide and it is not intermittent, like solar or wind.

2                 Britain’s new Energy Security Strategy requires the UK to triple its nuclear output by 2050. The country hopes to achieve this by using small modular reactors (SMRs).

3                 A typical SMR produces up to 400 megawatts, enough to power 400,000 homes. Traditional large nuclear power plants have much higher outputs, but supporters say that because of their smaller size, SMRs are easier to install in the places where more power is needed. Also, SMRs can mostly be built in a factory, which should keep down costs.

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Den vollständigen Artikel lesen Sie in der aktuellen Ausgabe der Read On.

Vocabulary

0                 small modular reactor kleiner modularer Reaktor — nuclear energy Atomkraft — engineering Technik — to generate power Strom erzeugen

1-2              to be out of favour (fig) in Ungnade sein — climate change Klimawandel — power generation Stromerzeugung — carbon dioxide Kohlenstoffdioxid — to be intermittent Schwankungen unterliegen — energy security Energiesicherheit — to require s.o. to do s.th. jdn. verpflichten, etw. zu tun — to triple s.th. etw. verdreifachen — output Leistung — to achieve s.th. etw. erreichen

3              nuclear power plant Atomkraftwerk — supporter Befürworter(in) — to install s.th. etw. errichten

Foto: Pixabay