Nuclear technology uses the energy released by splitting the atoms of certain elements. It was first developed in the 1940s, and during the Second World War to 1945 research initially focussed on producing bombs by splitting the atoms of particular isotopes of either uranium or plutonium.In the 1950s attention turned to the peaceful purposes of nuclear fission, notably for power generation. Today, the world produces as much electricity from nuclear energy as it did from all sources combined in the early years of nuclear power. Civil nuclear power can now boast over 16,500 reactor years of experience and supplies almost 11.5% of global electricity needs, from reactors in 31 countries. In fact, through regional grids, many more than those countries depend on nuclear-generated power.Many countries have also built research reactors to provide a source of neutron beams for scientific research and the production of medical and industrial isotopes.Today, only eight countries are known to have a nuclear weapons capability. By contrast, 56 countries operate about 240 civil research reactors, over one third of these in developing countries. Now 31 countries host some 440 commercial nuclear power reactors with a total installed capacity of over 380,000 MWe (see linked table for up to date figures). This is more than three times the total generating capacity of France or Germany from all sources. About 65 further nuclear power reactors are under construction, equivalent to 18% of existing capacity, while over 150 are firmly planned, equivalent to nearly half of present capacity.
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