The document discusses the author's early fascination with nuclear energy and its applications, particularly through the lens of nuclear reactors and Einstein's equation, E=mc². It highlights the impact of greenhouse gases, mainly carbon dioxide, on Earth's warming and the resulting consequences like melting ice in the Arctic and Greenland. The author provides insights into the importance of reducing food waste and altering diets to combat global warming.

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When I was 10, I heard on the radio that one
nuclear bomb had destroyed the Japanese City of
Hiroshima. This helped us win WWII in 1945

3. I loved reading ATOMS IN ACTION.
This helped me understand why
there is so much energy in an atom.
HYDROGEN ATOM
3
MIT Professor

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The electrical force between the positive nucleus and
the negative electrons hold the electrons in orbit.
This is much smaller than the nuclear forces between
protons and neutrons.

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I loved reading this book.
I learned for the first time
about Albert Einstein’s
famous equation
E = mc2
Energy = mass, m, times
(the velocity of light, c)
squared.
The mass of the uranium nucleus
gets transformed into the heat
and light energy of nuclear
reactions.

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Fission of Uranium 235 into two
medium sized nuclei (fragments) +
energy + more neutrons. E = mc2

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PEACE-TIME NUCLEAR REACTOR GENERATES ELECTRICITY.
The heat in the reactor boils water to generate steam.
This turns the weels of the turbine that generates electricity.

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Dr. Paul H. Carr, 25 years old, doing electronics research at
the microwave laboratory, Massachusetts Institute of
Technology, MIT, Boston, MA.

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An astronaut took this photo of our earth’s thin atmosphere from a satellite

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• We can see visible light, red, orange……blue, violet.
• We can not see infrared, long wave radiation, but we feel
it as heat. Carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere that
blankets our earth, traps this heat.
LIGHT IS AN ELECTOMAGNEGIC WAVE

12. Astronaut walking on the moon
Does our moon have an atmosphere?
Why is he wearing a space suit?

13. TEMPERATURES ON THE MOON
No greenhouse gas atmosphere
• Daly Variations:
Day 123 C (396 Kelvin)
Night -233 C (40 Kelvin)
Average -65 C (218 Kelvin)
ON EARTH
• Greenhouse gases, blanketing the earth, give much
smaller variations.
• On cloudless nights, Greenhouse gases, like carbon
dioxide, CO2, methane CH4, and ozone O3 keep us
warmer than on the moon.

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Astronauts took this photo of a sunset in the
troposphere and stratosphere from their
satellite.

15. Increasing CO2 gas density: 1. raises temperature of earth’s surface.
2. reduces temperature of the stratosphere.

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Coal burning takes oxygen
from our atmosphere to
get energy.
Carbon dioxide, CO2 in the
smoke.
Increasing carbon
dioxide is melting ice
at our North Pole.
(Arctic).

17. CARBON
DIOXIDE
MOLECULE
CO2
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How we get electrical energy from
burning coal.
(Coal carbon) C + 2 Oxygen = CO2 + Energy + Smoke
Energy = mc2
The heat energy from ncoal is used to boil water to
make steam to drive a turbine that generates
electricity. The same happens in a nuclear reactor, but
no carbon dioxide is generated in a nuclear reactor.

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COAL BURNING TO GENERATE ELECTRICITY.
The heat in the boiler heat water to generate steam.
This turns the wheels of the turbine that generates electricity.
CO2 in the smoke.
There is no carbon dioxide emitted from a nuclear reactor.

20. Both the temperature (green) and carbon dioxide are increasing.

21. Satellite and
Radiosonde (weather
balloon) Data.
Lower Stratosphere
(60,000ft) is cooling
Earth’s surface is
warming.
The increased
"blanketing" effect in the
lower atmosphere holds
in more heat, allowing
less to reach the
stratosphere
If the solar irradiance were
increasing, the surface &
stratosphere would both increase.

22. The warming temperatures on our earth are melting the ice
in the Arctic (North Pole) and Greenland.
http://www.pnaorg/content/early/2014/02/13/1318201111.abstract
Proc. National Academy of Science, Feb 18, 2014.
ARCTIC MELTING IN THE LAST 32 YEARS
SATELITE PHOTO
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24. Melting ice in Greenland is raising sea levels.
Miami Beach is a flood zone during King High Tides.

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--Reduce food waste
by empting your plate.
--Eat more vegtables
and less meat.

27. HOW OUR ATMOSPHERE KEEPS US WARM
1. How I became a scientist-engineer and studied at MIT.
2. Photos of our atmosphere from satellites.
3. Why temperature extremes on the moon are greater than on
earth.
3. How CO2 from burning fossil fuels (gasoline, oil, and coal) is
warming our planet via the Greenhouse effect.
4. How our warming Earth is melting ice on the North Pole and
Greenland, raising sea levels.
5. What we can do to reduce global warming.