Explain the nuclear reactor with examples.
Answers
Answer:
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.
•With more than 440 commercial reactors worldwide, including 94 in the United States, nuclear power continues to be one of the largest sources of reliable carbon-free electricity available.
•Nuclear Fission Creates Heat
The main job of a reactor is to house and control nuclear fission—a process where atoms split and release energy.
•Reactors use uranium for nuclear fuel. The uranium is processed into small ceramic pellets and stacked together into sealed metal tubes called fuel rods. Typically more than 200 of these rods are bundled together to form a fuel assembly. A reactor core is typically made up of a couple hundred assemblies, depending on power level.
•Inside the reactor vessel, the fuel rods are immersed in water which acts as both a coolant and moderator. The moderator helps slow down the neutrons produced by fission to sustain the chain reaction.
•Control rods can then be inserted into the reactor core to reduce the reaction rate or withdrawn to increase it.
•The heat created by fission turns the water into steam, which spins a turbine to produce carbon-free electricity.
Answer:
A nuclear reactor, formerly known as an atomic pile, is a device used to initiate and control a fission nuclear chain reaction or nuclear fusion reactions. Nuclear reactors are used at nuclear power plants for electricity generation and in nuclear marine propulsion. Heat from nuclear fission is passed to a working fluid (water or gas), which in turn runs through steam turbines. These either drive a ship's propellers or turn electrical generators' shafts. Nuclear generated steam in principle can be used for industrial process heat or for district heating. Some reactors are used to produce isotopes for medical and industrial use, or for production of weapons-grade plutonium. As of early 2019, the IAEA reports there are 454 nuclear power reactors and 226 nuclear research reactors in operation around the world.
