NUCLEAR 101: How Does a Nuclear Reactor Work?
2023年8月2日 · Nuclear reactors are the heart of a nuclear power plant. They contain and control nuclear chain reactions that produce heat through a physical process called fission. That heat is used to make steam that spins a turbine to create electricity.
How a Nuclear Reactor Works - HowStuffWorks
In this article, we'll explain how nuclear reactors work, what happens when they malfunction, and the risks they pose to our health and the environment compared to other energy sources. We'll also take a look at what technological advances could make the nuclear reactors of …
Nuclear reactor - Wikipedia
A nuclear reactor is a device used to initiate and control a fission nuclear chain reaction. Nuclear reactors are used at nuclear power plants for electricity generation and in nuclear marine propulsion .
How a Nuclear Reactor Works - Nuclear Energy Institute
Nuclear reactors are designed to sustain an ongoing chain reaction of fission; the reactors operating in the U.S. today are filled with a specially designed, solid uranium fuel and surrounded by water, which facilitates the process. When the reactor starts, uranium atoms will split, releasing neutrons and heat.
Here’s How a Nuclear Reactor Actually Works - Nuclear Energy …
2019年9月26日 · At nuclear power plants across the country, highly trained workers monitor an ongoing chain reaction that generates heat and steam, which is then converted to electricity using a turbine. Here are the three steps that reactors use to make clean electricity.
How do nuclear reactors work? - Argonne National Laboratory
2012年11月15日 · Learn about how nuclear power plants generate electricity, what is inside a nuclear reactor, nuclear power plant safety features, and what future nuclear reactors will be like.
How does a nuclear power plant generate electricity?
The term nuclear power refers to the source of this energy--the nucleus of atoms! Here's how it works. Inside a nuclear power plant is a nuclear reactor where heavy elements, like plutonium or uranium, fuel nuclear fission reactions.
Harnessing a Nuclear Reaction - How a Nuclear Reactor Works - HowStuffWorks
Put simply, a nuclear reactor splits atoms and releases the energy that holds their parts together. If it's been a while since you took high school physics, we'll remind you how nuclear fission works: Atoms are like tiny solar systems, with the nucleus where the …
Nuclear reactor | Definition, History, & Components | Britannica
2024年11月16日 · nuclear reactor, any of a class of devices that can initiate and control a self-sustaining series of nuclear fissions. Nuclear reactors are used as research tools, as systems for producing radioactive isotope s, and most prominently …
How Nuclear Power Works - Union of Concerned Scientists
2010年7月27日 · At a basic level, nuclear power is the practice of splitting atoms to boil water, turn turbines, and generate electricity. During fission, a neutron bombards a uranium atom, releasing more neutrons and triggering a chain reaction. Atoms are …