CZ:Featured article/Current: Difference between revisions

From Citizendium
Jump to navigation Jump to search
imported>Chunbum Park
(→‎Synapsid: Buddhist councils)
imported>John Stephenson
(template)
 
(59 intermediate revisions by 4 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
== '''[[Buddhist councils]]''' ==
{{:{{FeaturedArticleTitle}}}}
----
<small>
A number of '''Buddhist councils''' have been held, or alleged to have been held, over the course of the history of [[Buddhism]]. Some are recognized by particular Buddhist traditions as equivalent to ecumenical councils in Catholic and Orthodox Christianity (that term is not generally used in a Buddhist context); others are acknowledged as local.
==Footnotes==
 
At the present day, Mahayana Buddhism gives little prominence to councils, but they are an important part of the self-concept of Theravada Buddhism. Formerly, different Theravada countries had different lists of councils, but recently the Burmese numbering has generally prevailed.<ref>"Die birmanische Zählung hat sich jedoch neuerdings allgemein durchgesetzt." Heinz Bechert, ''Buddhismus, Staat und Gesellschaft in den Ländern des Theravāda-Buddhismus'', Alfred Metzner, Frankfurt/Berlin, volume 1, 1966, page 105, note 362</ref>
 
===First Council===
 
This council is described in the scriptures. They tell how Kassapa/Kāśyapa (Pali/Sanskrit), apparently the senior surviving disciple of the Buddha, convened it shortly after the Buddha's death (currently dated by most scholars around 400 BC), in order to preserve the teachings. It comprised 500 senior monks (a conventional large number) meeting at Rājagaha/-gṛha (modern name Rajgir). Kassapa questioned Upāli on the monastic discipline and Ānanda on the rest of the teachings (in most versions, but some have him expounding the Abhidharma himself). The council compiled and recited the teachings and ensured their passing on. (It was not customary in ancient India to write down religious teachings; if writing had been introduced in the Buddha's day at all it was used only for mundane matters such as bookkeeping.)
 
Historians reject this account as implausible, though they are not agreed on whether some small gathering of leading disciples took place with such a purpose, or whether the whole story is just a projection of later practice back in time.
 
''[[Buddhist councils|.... (read more)]]''
 
{| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed" style="width: 90%; float: center; margin: 0.5em 1em 0.8em 0px;"
|-
! style="text-align: center;" | &nbsp;[[Buddhist councils#Notes|notes]]
|-
|
{{reflist|2}}
{{reflist|2}}
|}
</small>

Latest revision as of 10:19, 11 September 2020

After decades of failure to slow the rising global consumption of coal, oil and gas,[1] many countries have proceeded as of 2024 to reconsider nuclear power in order to lower the demand for fossil fuels.[2] Wind and solar power alone, without large-scale storage for these intermittent sources, are unlikely to meet the world's needs for reliable energy.[3][4][5] See Figures 1 and 2 on the magnitude of the world energy challenge.

Nuclear power plants that use nuclear reactors to create electricity could provide the abundant, zero-carbon, dispatchable[6] energy needed for a low-carbon future, but not by simply building more of what we already have. New innovative designs for nuclear reactors are needed to avoid the problems of the past.

(CC) Image: Geoff Russell
Fig.1 Electricity consumption may soon double, mostly from coal-fired power plants in the developing world.[7]

Issues Confronting the Nuclear Industry

New reactor designers have sought to address issues that have prevented the acceptance of nuclear power, including safety, waste management, weapons proliferation, and cost. This article will summarize the questions that have been raised and the criteria that have been established for evaluating these designs. Answers to these questions will be provided by the designers of these reactors in the articles on their designs. Further debate will be provided in the Discussion and the Debate Guide pages of those articles.

Footnotes
  1. ↑ Global Energy Growth by Our World In Data
  2. ↑ Countries, organizations, and public figures that have reconsidered their stance on nuclear power are listed on the External Links tab of this article.
  3. ↑ Pumped storage is currently the most economical way to store electricity, but it requires a large reservoir on a nearby hill or in an abandoned mine. Li-ion battery systems at $500 per KWh are not practical for utility-scale storage. See Energy Storage for a summary of other alternatives.
  4. ↑ Utilities that include wind and solar power in their grid must have non-intermittent generating capacity (typically fossil fuels) to handle maximum demand for several days. They can save on fuel, but the cost of the plant is the same with or without intermittent sources.
  5. ↑ Mark Jacobson believes that long-distance transmission lines can provide an alternative to costly storage. See the bibliography for more on this proposal and the critique by Christopher Clack.
  6. ↑ "Load following" is the term used by utilities, and is important when there is a lot of wind and solar on the grid. Some reactors are not able to do this.
  7. ↑ Fig.1.3 in Devanney "Why Nuclear Power has been a Flop"

Retrieved from "https://citizendium.org/wiki/index.php?title=CZ:Featured_article/Current&oldid=759442"