Applications of nuclear

technology

The main use of nuclear energy is the production of electric energy. Nuclear
power plants are responsible for generating electricity. Nuclear fission reactors
are generated in the nuclear reactors of the nuclear power plants. With these
reactions thermal energy is obtained which will be transformed into mechanical
energy and later into electrical energy.
However, there are many other applications where nuclear technology is used
directly or indirectly.

Working with different isotopes of the same element, nuclear technology can be
used for other applications in various fields:

Industrial applications of nuclear technology

Nuclear technology is of great importance in the industrial sector, specifically
used in the development and improvement of processes, for measurements,
automation and quality control.

Used as a prerequisite for the complete automation of high -speed production

lines, and applies to process research, mixi ng, maintenance and study of wear
and corrosion of plant and machinery.

Nuclear technology is also used in the manufacture of plastics and in the

sterilization of disposable products.

Military applications, nuclear weapons

 A weapon is an instrument used
to attack or defend itself. Nuclear weapons are those weapons that use nuclear
technology. Depending on the role of nuclear technology in the weapon, two
types of nuclear weapons differ: those that use nuclear energy to exploit, such
as the atomic bomb, and those that use nuclear technology to propel. This
second category includes cruises, aircraft carriers, submarines ...

Nuclear medicine
One in three patients who go to a hospital in an industrialized country receive
the benefits of some kind of nuclear medicine procedure. Radiopharmaceuticals
are used, such as radiotherapy for the treatment of malignant tumors,
teletherapy for oncological treatment or radiological biology that allows the
sterilization of medical products.

Applications in agriculture of nuclear

technology
The application of isotopes to agriculture has made it possible to increase
agricultural production in the least developed countries.
Nuclear technology is very useful in controlling in sect pests, maximizing water
resources, improving crop varieties or establishing the conditions necessary to
optimize the efficiency of fertilizers and Water.

Application of nuclear technology to food

As for food, nuclear techniques play a key role in food preservation.

The application of isotopes allows a significant increase in the conservation of

food. At present, more than 35 countries allow the irradiation of some foods.

Environmental applications of nuclear

technology
The application of isotopes makes it possible to determine the exact quantities
of pollutants and places where they are present and their causes. In
addition, electron beam treatment reduces the environmental and health
consequences of large-scale use of fossil fuels, and contributes more effectively
than other techniques to solving problems such as "the greenhouse effect" And
acid rain.

Other applications of nuclear technology

Like dating, which uses the properties of carbon -14 fixation to bones, woods or
organic waste, determining their chronological age, and the uses in Geophysics
and Geochemistry, that take advantage of the existence of natural radioactive
materials for the fixation of the Dates of deposits of rocks, coal or oil.

Other applications of nuclear technology occur in discip lines such as hydrology,

mining or space industry.