Ardhi Eka Fadilah

Nuclear Fusion vs Nuclear Fission

Nuclear energy should be a consideration for the future with the rapidly depleting supply of fossil fuels. This type of energy can be created through nuclear fission and nuclear fusion. Nuclear fission is the splitting of a heavy atom into two or more parts, releasing huge amounts of energy. The release of energy can be controlled and captured for generating electricity. Nuclear fusion involves bombarding hydrogen atoms together to form helium. Although both of them are types of nuclear, there are some outstanding differences between nuclear fusion and nuclear fission.

Cost and availability of fuel is a considerable factor when dealing with nuclear power. Fission requires an element that can be easily split in a particle accelerator, such as uranium or plutonium. Fusion, on the other hand, uses isotopes of hydrogen atoms, specifically deuterium and tritium that can be obtained from ordinary water. Uranium ores occur naturally in many parts of the world but must go through a costly purification process before used as fuel. The unprocessed ore contains approximately 99.3% uranium-238, a non-fissionable isotope of uranium, and only about 0.7% of U-235 required for fission. One hydrogen atom out of 6700 appears as deuterium, a naturally occurring isotope of hydrogen with an extra neutron, and can easily be separated from the rest. Uranium-235 is a non-renewable resource that will eventually run out, much like the fossil fuels. The abundance of deuterium and lithium provide a virtually unlimited supply of fuel for nuclear fusion. Therefore, nuclear fusion seems to be the better choice.

Second, the potential amount of energy produced by fusion can greatly outweigh the fission. Originally, there are some disadvantages to fusion. The time and money required to develop technology needed to initiate, contain, and sustain a profitable fusion reaction is costly, but the development is still in its early stages and will continue to advance through the next century. Fission creates a chain reaction which must be slowed through use of a moderator to avoid core meltdown, while fusion can only be accomplished at temperatures similar to the centre of stars, about 100 million degrees Celsius. The components used in fusion exist in the form of plasma where atoms are divided into electrons and nuclei. No solid material known to man can withstand temperatures necessary for nuclear fusion, but several methods of containment are being researched, magnetic confinement and inertial confinement. Until recently, all fusion devices developed have used much more energy than produced, but the latest designs have been able to generate an equal amount of energy to that required to sustain the reaction. Finally, fusion of a given mass of deuterium will be able to create over four times the energy produced through fission of an equal mass of uranium. It is just a matter of time and development before useful amounts of electricity can be produced through fusion.

Finally, the biggest concern people have about nuclear power is the production of radioactive waste among other hazards. First, the radioactive waste produced by fission remains highly radioactive for thousands of years. Fusion produces only low levels of short lived radiation, decaying almost completely within 100 years. Secondly, neither fission nor fusion reactors produce the greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to global warming and acid rain. Finally, a malfunction of the moderator in nuclear fission reactors almost assures a core meltdown. Fusion reactions, however, are so extremely difficult to sustain that if anything were to go wrong, the reaction would invariably stop. After examining the potential of such technologies as fusion it becomes the obvious choice over fission.

In conclusion, nuclear fusion has much more potential for long term use than the current fission reactors, even though in the short term it may cost a little more to develop. The small price to pay for development of fusion technology seems trivial in comparison to the price of the planet.

Ivana Okta Riyani

Food for Thought

Food is very important for us since human body depends on it to stay healthy. That is why we have to be selective in choosing the kind of fare to be consumed. People are accustomed with fast food and home-cooked meal, and both of them are tasty. However, they have several differences in nutrition or health aspect, variety and price.
The first aspect is the fact that the nutrition inside fast food and home-cooked meal is extremely different. Fast food is good in taste so that a lot of people like it. However, most fast food is not good for people’s health. The quality of the ingredients that are used to make it is not good, and it means that it is lack of nutrition that is needed by our body. It causes many potential risks to the body. Most of the fast food contain a large number of fat, and it can cause cholesterol problems. On the contrary, home-cooked meal is healthier than fast food. It uses ingredients which are good in nutrition and it can make our body stay in a healthy condition.
The second phase that differentiate them is that the home-cooked meal are more various than fast food which is lack of variety. As we know, we can only eat monotone kind of fast food such as fried chicken, pizza, hamburger or any kind of instant noodles. Unlike fast food, home-cooked meal is rich in kinds. We are able to mix the ingredients or add something that we want and also create a lot of new menus so that we will not get bored to eat it.
The third aspect is we can save money if we consume home-cooked meal. Fast food is more expensive since it helps people a lot to save their time. It is instant and very easy to get. People do not have to waste their time and energy to cook. In contrast to fast food, home-cooked meal is cheaper. By cooking and eating it, we will not waste our money and we can save it for another daily needs.
In conclusion, fast food and home-cooked meal are extremely different in health aspect or nutrition, variety, and price. Fast food might be better for people who are busy to save their time, yet it will give negative effect to the body if we consume it too much and too often. On the other hand home-cooked meal is very good in health aspect, variety and price. Due to those considerations, I believe that consuming home-cooked meal will give good result to our health. If we want to live in a good and healthy way it will be better to choose the home-cooked meal as our daily fare.

Comparison and Contrasr Essay

Dear Students,

Please publish your comparison and contrast essay. I do expect that by next Thursday (November 26th 2009) everyone will have posted his/her essay.

Write down your name on the title so that it will be easy for me to check who has submitted his/her work and who has not.

Happy blogging!
Anik Nunuk Wulyani

Ivana Okta Riyani

Indonesia and Its Beautiful Sights

Every country in this world must have had some beautiful sights to see. They might be the beach, lake, palace or any other enchanting places to see. They become something to be proud of, everybody likes to talked about them.
Every tourist must have been interested to these places because of their beauty, and I am really sure that they become the most wanted places to be visited by many tourists. So does in my beloved country, Indonesia, there are also some beautiful sights you will ever see.
First of all, let us go to Jogjakarta, it is located in the south of Central Java. Jogjakarta which is usually called Jogja has a lot of glorious places as the tourist destinations. We have Parangtritis Beach for instance, it is a very lovely beach with beautiful view. Its white sand and the running wave will not make the visitors easily forget its beauty. We can ride a horse along the shore and enjoy the lovely panorama there. I am sure that it will be the one of the must be visited place in Jogja.
Still in Jogja, yet we move to the temples. It is used to be one of the seven wonders in the world. Yup, it is Borobudur Temple. It is the biggest Buddha temple in this world and it is very gorgeous. The temple is very wide and high, after walking on the entire temple we will feel very tired yet very happy. We can know about the history from the relief on the temple walls. There is a myth, if we could touch the bellybutton of one of the Buddha statues, our will is going to be true. People believe in this myth, so they are always trying to touch it when they visit Borobudur. Besides, we still have Prambanan Temple, a Hindu temple, it is the biggest Hindu temple in Indonesia. It consists of one thousands statues, and a very great story stands behind it. The story of Lara Jonggrang and Bandung Bondowoso. It is a very well known story in Indonesia. Actually, Jogja still has many great tourist destinations such as Keraton, Malioboro and some Museums. You must be disappointed if you do not include these places as your destinations when you visit Jogja.
Secondly let us move to the paradise island in Indonesia, Bali. Tourists all over the world must have known about this place. The lovely island with so many beautiful beaches. Let begin with Kuta, it is a very famous beach in Bali. Many tourists make this beach as a must be visited beach when they visit Bali. The view, the breeze, the sand, the wave and everything there make everyone wants to stay for a long time and come back there whenever they visit Bali again. Next is Sanur, we will get the best sunrise view there. It is very great, everyone will not forget the beauty of the view there. After Sanur we have Tanah Lot, it is obvious that this beach is also gorgeous. It has a cave which is kept by a white snake.
The other destination, yet still in Bali is Bedugul. A beautiful lake with some Balinese temples or Pura. We can do some water sports there while enjoying the lovely scenery. Anyway, there are still many great destinations in Bali, for example Sangeh the monkey’s kingdom, Sukowati the traditional market in Bali, Tampaksiring etc. Tourists must visit all of them when they go to Bali.
They are just some of the examples of lovely places in my country. Indonesia still has many of gorgeous places to be visited. And I am very proud of them. I love my country since it has some of the most beautiful sights you will ever see and you must visit all of them.

Amon Sulthan K.

The Happiest Occasion

There are some ways to celebrate Independence Day, such as by hold flag ceremony, carnivals,”jalan sehat”, and games. This year, my country celebrated the 64th Anniversary. We always celebrate our Independence Day at august 17 and we always have a flag ceremony in the morning. We celebrate the Independence Day in order to commemorate our heroes’ buffetings in defending our country from the invaders. I always look forward to the Independence Day because I will have an occasion and there are many fascinating things to do. Independence Day always be the happiest occasion because of some reason.
First of all, we always have a big carnival in every city. We usually wear various kinds of costume that reflected the hero or culture from Indonesia. They usually walk around the city while using those costumes. When the carnival is held, the city becomes so crowded, especially the downtown. Many food sellers sell variety of different foods that we cannot find easily in daily life. The streets become colourful because of the carnival participant’s costumes, which are beautiful and unique. The city metamorphoses in to a different city when the carnival is held.
Beside carnival, we also have many games to celebrate the Independence Day. We usually hold the games a week before August 17 and we have so many kinds of games, such as football, volleyball, and many others. In addition, we also has traditional games to rejoice the Independence Day such as “panjat pinang”, “balap kelereng”, “balap karung” and many others. Some of those games are for children, some are for adult and the others are for the adult and children. For example, “panjat pinang” is for adult, “balap kelereng” is forchldren and “balap karung” can be for children and adult.
Then, we also have “jalan sehat”, we usually hold it on Sunday morning, a week before the Independence comes. We have to take a walk around certain area. During the event, we get coupon that is drowned, at the end of the event. “Jalan sehat” also can be comfortably because we can take a walk and heal the fresh air. We can also talk with our friends while we walking. Some cities held that event freely and there are a lot of prizes to win. Often, the prizes are worth things, such as fan, glass, plate, oven, and many others thing. There are a lot of things that we can get from “jalan sehat”, we are not only can get the prizes, but also our body can be healthier than before.
There are several fascinating things that we do to celebrate the Independence Day. We hold flag ceremony, carnivals, games, and “jalan sehat”. We have those kinds of activities, not only to celebrate the Independence Day, but also to commemorate the fallen heroes in defending our country from the invaders. In Independence Day, while we holding those fascinating activities, we also commemorate our heroes’ buffetings. It makes the Independence Day becomes one of the happiest occasion.

Ziadatul H.

Stay Tune!

There are many people in the world believe that watching TV is a part of their lifestyle. People can spend their time excessively in front of TV. They can even do their activities in front of TV, such as cooking after the guidance from cooking programme on TV, or even purchasing some products from advertisement channel. Even though some people hate TV but actually, instead of wasting time, watching TV can help us to use our time effectively. Therefore, watching TV is not a waste of time because it has two major advantages that are very important for us.
The first advantage is TV can give us a lot of information. We can provide ourselves with knowledge from TV, for example The Discovery Channel. Trough TV, we do not need to open a boring thick encyclopedia. Just stay tune on Discovery Channel, and we know all about wildlife, cell system, even the world history. The other information is the news. Getting the most recent news is very important for us. We should know whether there is a travel warning or not before decide to go abroad. We also need to know the recent news about political issues and who the winner of election is. Information on TV also helps us in our daily life. For example, we do not need to go out from our house to buy a certain product. We just need to order it from the advertisement channel. It saves our time and effectively makes our life easier. Through TV, we obtain fast information that makes our life more comfortable. 
The second advantage is TV provides us with entertainments. TV shows us many kinds of entertainments such as soap opera, music stage, comedy, etc. Basically, we need an entertainment to fulfill our need to reduce our stress. People live with so many businesses every day that can lead to stress. Even the smallest problem such as peer pressure leads to the stressful condition. In this situation, laugh can make us feel better and that is the comedy and the cheap soap opera are for. Besides, watching an entertainment programme on TV is one kind of brain recreations. We should not force our brain to work nonstop in certain problem. Instead of getting an enlightening solution, more often we just out of focus and easily get stress. Like our body, brain also needs refreshment. The experts said that entertainment can make us more focus to reach success. That is because we give a time for our brain to ease and reunite the distracted concentration. By watching TV, we can find a lot of kinds of entertainments that we need.
As you can see, watching TV is considered as a new habit of today’s people. We can spend our time more effectively and it also helps us in our daily activities. We can expand our knowledge trough TV, based on its function as the source of information. Thus, TV is very important for us because it can give a lot of information and amusements. Based on these reason, watching TV is not a waste of time at all. So, keep stay tune.

made andika setyawan

Have Great Times During
Holiday

Holiday is a long break time which you can use it to refresh your mind. Through holiday you can do your favorite activities, such as bike up to mountain, hiking, fishing, gardening, etc. All of them can’t be done when you are working or studying at school. At the end of semester, there will be a long holiday for three month. It can be boring, happy, but confusing as well. If you feel confusing, what you should doing during holiday, you just need a sense of creativity to walk through holiday. There are some creative activities that you can do during holiday.
Take, for example, earn some money for your pocket money could be fun and promising. The only one thing, you should have is a guts to be shame or to be failed. Get a part time job is both scary and exhausting at the first time, but get your first job done and get a pay for it could burn your spirit to do more job. Pay is not a big deal, even it is big or not, doing part time job is a priceless experience for you. Another needs your talent, but much fun for you. Making some handicraft for sale, for examples make a pair of shoe which you paint as the order. For that reason, you really need a good painting skill to do that. Another thing that you can make is a bag. Make it from unused stuff, like plastic. This job is needed your creativity to make it valuable to be sold. Show your masterpieces to relatives, if they like, they will buy. The last way for making money is education. Make your own private course can be promising. Teaching means you should have a place to do it. Come to your students place, or rent a house to do it. A little bit promotion can support your job. At least, all of them can make you grow up and also support your independent study. Pocket money is no longer problems.
Another example is having a trip with your friends. Having a trip needs a preparation and its planning as well. Manage your trip three month before the final day. Ask your friend for a meeting then pick your destination. Discuss about the whole trip cost. Knowing exactly how much the cost of your trip is an important thing. It is a massive trouble if you run out of money, because of carrying least budget. However, it is a waste if you carrying too much money. Make a budget list could be a big help to maintain a good trip.
Finally, refresh your mind by doing your hobby. Directly do your hobby will harm you especially sports, such as swimming, biking, hiking, running, etc. They need a warm-up before you do it.
A long holiday brings you a lot of time to do everything you want. In other opinion, long holiday can be boring if you don’t have any activities to do. Do not let your time disappear for nothing. There several activities, such as earn some money, plan a trip with your friends, and doing your hobby. Make your holiday worth to remember. Let it be a new story, experiences and a lesson for your life.