Nuclear Reactors
Nuclear Reactors INDEX Nuclear Reactor Heat Generation Cooling Reactivity Control Xenon Poisoning Electrical Power Generation Type of Nuclear Reactors Nuclear Fuel Cycle Refueling Nuclear Safety Nuclear Accidents Advantages and Disadvantages 01. Nuclear Reactor A nuclear reactor is a device used to initiate and control a fission nuclear chain reaction or nuclear fusion reaction. Nuclear reactors are used at nuclear power plants for electricity generation and in marine nuclear propulsion. The heat from nuclear fission is passed to a working fluid (water or gas), which 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 02. Heat Generation A kilogram of uranium-235 (U-235) converted via nuclear processes releases approximately three million times more energy than a kilogram of it burned conventionally (7.2 × 1013 joules