Nuclear Africa logo
Emc square

Where the Power of Nuclear Comes From

E = mc2 is one of the most well known equations of all time. It is regularly used to project a nuclear image in popular magazines.

This equation is a century old and comes from the work at Albert Einstein.

When the concept of energy is first taught at school a teacher will usually explain to the learners that energy cannot be created or destroyed, it can only be converted from one form to another.

This is true for all energy except when some nuclear processes come into play. A nuclear reaction is the only process which can convert matter itself into energy. Energy E, is derived from the mass of some object m, multiplied by the speed of light c, and then multiplied by c again. The speed of light is very large. Thus a very large amount of the nuclear power E can be produced using only a very small mass m.

A piece of uranium the size of a cricket ball can light up a city.

Nuclear power potential

Nuclear Power Potential

Nuclear Technology is now about a century old.

It was at the dawn of the 20th century when famous scientific names such as Albert Einstein, Ernest Rutherford and Enrico Fermi made theoretical and experimental advances which paved the way for the introduction of nuclear power. At the time a number of these famous names did not believe that real nuclear power would result from the amazing calculations and early experiments which indicated the incredible power contained in the atom.

In a few decades the true potential of nuclear became very visible to the world. The huge potential of nuclear power to charge the face of all mankind is still lying largely untapped. The true wealth of nuclear power still lies before us.

More...

Nuclear Africa Conference 2018

Sponsors

RosAtom SNPTC

In collaboration with

Nuclear Education Science and Technology NIASA
North-West University

Media partners

Media partners