Georgetown Law
Technology Review

Society faces the growing energy demands of an information-age economy while simultaneously attempting to reduce reliance on fossil fuels to mitigate climate change. This demand for energy is only growing with the introduction of electron-hungry artificial intelligence programs being introduced by many major tech companies. The leading AI chipmaker Nvidia will be making enough high-end chips that society will be adding an additional Netherlands or Argentina worth of energy demand every year. To address these demands, Amazon, Microsoft, and Google have all contracted with nuclear power companies to provide energy to their data centers. This has renewed interest in nuclear fission (the splitting of atoms) as a potential clean-energy technology. Nuclear fission has unique risks compared to fossil fuel power generation, but unique rewards as it can produce large-scale power without external constraints or generating air pollution. This paper will explain the structure of the atom, how atoms undergo nuclear fission, and how that fission is controlled before examining several different currently operating reactor designs. Understanding the basic mechanics of fission reactors can hopefully allay any fears around this potentially transformative technology.

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