Many applications have been found for nuclear energy nowadays. One of the most important applications is generating electricity. In fact, nuclear power has proved itself as a very efficient source of energy in this field. But this is just one application. Nuclear energy has also been used to convert sea water to fresh water, to cure some dangerous diseases like cancer, and to extend our knowledge in the biological and the geological aspects of science, through the various studies carried out with it.
Nuclear energy is also one of the safest sources of energy too.
This may sound strange, but nowadays, the nuclear reactors are provided with containment shells and thick, concrete walls and lead that prevent the radioactivity from escaping out of the reactor. This brings the issue of Chernobyl's accident in 1986. It turns out that this accident was very much related to a type of reactors that the Soviet Union adopted, called the RBMK reactor. These types of reactors were designed to serve the production of nuclear power as well as nuclear weapons. Therefore, they lack certain safety characteristics which exist in most present nuclear power plants.