The magic of nuclear energy is more than just power generation! Explore the N new productivity in nuclear power →

Energy is a prerequisite for human civilization and a basic element for the development of modern science and technology and productivity. We are currently in a critical period of energy transformation. As a clean and efficient form of energy, nuclear energy has been developing with the progress of society since its birth, and now plays an increasingly important role.

Let’s first learn some basic knowledge - what is nuclear energy?

Nuclear energy refers to the electricity generated by using the energy stored in the nucleus of an atom. A tiny nucleus, with a diameter of only one hundred millionth of a hair, contains astonishingly huge energy - the energy generated by the fission of 1 kilogram of uranium 235 is roughly equivalent to the heat released by the full combustion of 2,700 tons of standard coal.

What are the advantages and applications of nuclear power? How to innovate and promote it to become a new productivity? Which industries will it have a profound impact on in the future? As one of the series of activities of Science Popularization in China, on September 25, the Zhejiang Provincial Science and Technology Association's "Entering New Productivity" series of science popularization activities "'Nuclear' XIN Power, Chasing the New Energy Journey" entered the birthplace of China's nuclear power - Qinshan Nuclear Power Plant on the shores of Hangzhou Bay, leading the public to get close to nuclear energy in an immersive and experiential new way, and understand the scientific principles and future applications of nuclear energy.

The event was co-organized by the Chinese Nuclear Society, Haiyan County Science and Technology Association, Qinshan Nuclear Power, and CNNC Qinshan Isotope Co., Ltd.

Hard "core" responsibility

Enter Qinshan Nuclear Power Plant, a national business card

The first stop was the China Nuclear Power Science and Technology Museum. As the largest nuclear power science and technology museum in China with the richest public experience, it not only has Asia's largest indoor LED ball screen, the world's largest nuclear pressure water reactor main line model, but also a nuclear harmony home multimedia sand table display and a variety of interactive experience science equipment for educational and entertaining. The children from the Wuyuan Middle School Education Group in Haiyan County followed the teacher's explanation and gradually gained a deeper understanding of the historical origins and related scientific knowledge of the Qinshan Nuclear Power Station.

In 1982, nearly 10,000 nuclear industry construction workers gathered in Qinshan from the northwest and southwest of China, and the first phase of the Qinshan Nuclear Power Project, the first nuclear power plant in mainland my country, was launched in full swing. As China's first commercial nuclear power plant designed and built independently, it not only witnessed the development of China's nuclear energy industry from scratch, but also became an important symbol of my country's independent innovation in nuclear energy technology. At present, Qinshan Nuclear Power has built 9 units with a total installed capacity of 6.66 million kilowatts and an annual power generation of about 52 billion kilowatt-hours. It is the nuclear power base with the largest number of units and the richest reactor types in my country.

After accumulating basic knowledge, when we officially enter the second stop, Qinshan Nuclear Power Plant, we will have a deeper and more intuitive scientific experience. Overlooking the first, second and third phases of the Qinshan Nuclear Power Base and the Fangjiashan Nuclear Power Project, everyone is excited. Over the past 30 years, Qinshan Nuclear Power and the surging Qianjiang River have recorded the unremitting self-improvement of generations of scientific and technological personnel. Since it was connected to the grid for more than 30 years, China's nuclear power has experienced an independent development process from following to running side by side and then to leading. It has also successfully achieved innovative upgrades from power generation to diversified comprehensive utilization, including energy-saving and emission reduction measures and intelligent operation and maintenance technologies. Qinshan Nuclear Power Plant is also constantly exploring diversified comprehensive utilization projects under the background of new quality productivity, such as nuclear energy heating, isotope research and development and production, etc., to polish the golden signboard of "national glory" in the new era.

How magical are the isotopes used in physical examinations?

Discover the great scientific power of small nuclear power

Speaking of the new productivity of Qinshan Nuclear Power, in addition to nuclear power itself, this time we also visited a very magical place. The third stop was to lead the public into the China National Nuclear Corporation Qinshan Isotope Production Base adjacent to Qinshan Nuclear Power Plant No. 2 to explore the health miracle of medical isotopes.

In April this year, the world's first batch of carbon-14 production targets were successfully produced at the Qinshan Nuclear Power Plant, solving the problem of China's dependence on imports of carbon-14 isotopes, and further demonstrating the broad application prospects of nuclear energy technology.

Many people may not know about isotopes. Let me explain. Different atoms of the same element with the same number of protons but different numbers of neutrons are called isotopes. It sounds a bit complicated, but in short, it is a mysterious weapon related to human health.

There are more than 100 radioactive isotopes used in the medical field worldwide, of which more than 30 are used for the diagnosis and treatment of diseases. Medical isotopes are the material basis of nuclear medicine diagnosis and treatment. The use of medical isotopes for the diagnosis and treatment of major diseases such as cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, malignant tumors, and neurodegeneration has irreplaceable advantages.

For example, iodine-131 is used in the treatment of hyperthyroidism and thyroid cancer; cobalt-60 (a radioactive isotope of the element cobalt) is commonly used in radiotherapy for cancer and tumors. It is also widely used in agriculture, often used for radiation breeding, stimulating yield increases, radiation control of pests, and food irradiation preservation and preservation, etc.; there is another isotope that everyone may be more familiar with - carbon-14, which is a radioactive isotope of carbon produced by cosmic rays hitting nitrogen atoms in the air. Many people now have a special item in their physical examinations - the carbon-14 breath test. Compared with traditional gastroscopy, the detection using the isotope carbon-14 is simpler and more accurate. Carbon-14 labeled compounds are widely used in chemistry, biology, and medicine, and are easy to track, accurate, and sensitive.

Isotopes have been widely used in the medical field and have become an indispensable means for humans to improve their health. However, at present, some of the isotopes produced independently by my country can only meet a small amount of domestic demand, and other reactor-irradiated medical isotopes are all imported, which poses potential risks.

Zhejiang Province proposed to build a highland of life sciences in the "14th Five-Year Plan" for scientific and technological development. Haiyan is one of the pioneers in the development of the nuclear technology application (isotope) industry in the country. It is planning to build a full industrial chain system of "two bases and two centers" including isotope production base, nuclear technology application expansion base, nuclear technology innovation center, and nuclear medical center. At present, Qinshan Nuclear Power has built the production capacity of industrial and medical cobalt-60, and is developing a variety of other isotopes, actively exploring new quality productivity, and establishing a stable and independent domestic medical isotope production and supply guarantee system.

【New Knowledge Q&A】

Q: Metropolitan Express

A: Zheng Yongxiang, Deputy Secretary-General of the Nuclear Power Operation and Application Technology Branch of the Chinese Nuclear Society and former Business/Technical Director of Qinshan Nuclear Power

Q: What are the key areas of nuclear technology innovation in the future?

A: There are three main directions. The first is to further improve the operation and maintenance level of operating nuclear power units, enhance equipment reliability, and enhance unit safety and economy. The second is the application of nuclear technology, which not only has broad application prospects in the energy field, but also shows great development potential in many fields such as medicine, agriculture, industry, and environmental protection. The multi-purpose development and research of nuclear power, and the comprehensive utilization of isotopes and nuclear energy (heating, hydrogen production, etc.) The last one is the research and development of new nuclear power technologies. New reactors with higher safety, smaller nuclear waste generation, better economy and multi-purpose functions have become important innovation directions in the global nuclear energy field. China is currently actively promoting the research and development of new nuclear power technologies and the research of new nuclear power reactor types, including fusion reactors, sodium-cooled fast reactors, high-temperature gas-cooled reactors, small reactors, thorium-based molten salt reactors, lead-cooled reactors, etc.

Q: On which industries and fields will the development of nuclear technology have a profound impact in the future?

A: In the energy industry, nuclear power, as a clean and low-carbon form of energy, will play an important role in the transformation of the global energy structure. At the same time, nuclear technology will also promote the development of hydrogen energy, nuclear heating and other fields; in medical health, the application of nuclear technology in the medical field will continue to expand. For example, the application of medical means such as proton therapy and nuclear medicine will improve the diagnosis and treatment of diseases such as tumors; in the agricultural field, nuclear technology will promote the innovation of agricultural breeding methods, improve the insect resistance, disease resistance, drought resistance and other characteristics of seeds, thereby increasing the yield and quality of crops; in industrial manufacturing, the application of nuclear technology in industrial nondestructive testing, material modification and other aspects will promote the manufacturing industry to develop in the direction of higher quality and higher efficiency; in the environmental protection industry, nuclear technology will play an important role in wastewater treatment, air pollution control and other fields, providing new solutions and scientific and technological support for the environmental protection industry.

[“Entering the New Productivity” series of popular science activities]

With the rapid development of science and technology, new productivity is reshaping our world at an unprecedented speed. Zhejiang Association for Science and Technology actively responds to the call of the times and strives to create a series of popular science activities called "Entering New Productivity", aiming to deepen the popular science education of young people, relying on Zhejiang Province's unique "315" scientific and technological innovation system and forward-looking "9+6" future industrial layout, leading the public to step into the forefront of science and technology, perceive the charm of science and technology, improve the scientific literacy of the whole people, and jointly draw a blueprint for innovative development.

The 2024 Zhejiang Association for Science and Technology's "Entering New Productivity" series of science popularization activities will build a bridge between the public and cutting-edge technology with rich and diverse scenario-based, experiential, and immersive science popularization forms, and jointly explore the innovative context of future industries such as synthetic biology, gene editing, brain science and artificial intelligence, hydrogen energy storage, aerospace information, ground-space integration, the metaverse, deep earth and deep sea.