"A nuclear reactor is a device used to initiate and control a fission nuclear chain reaction or nuclear fusion reactions."
Devices that utilize nuclear reactions to produce energy for various applications.
Nuclear Physics: The study of the properties and interactions of atomic nuclei, electrons, and subatomic particles.
Basic Nuclear Reactor Concepts: Introduction to the principles and concepts of nuclear reactors, including the different types of radiation, nuclear fission, and nuclear fusion.
Nuclear Fuel: The different types of fuel used in nuclear reactors, including uranium, plutonium, and thorium, as well as their properties and production processes.
Nuclear Reactor Design: Design principles and considerations for constructing safe and efficient nuclear reactors, including reactor types, thermal-hydraulics, and radiation shielding.
Reactor Materials and Components: The different components of a nuclear reactor, including fuel rods, control rods, reactors vessels, coolant systems, and reactor cores.
Nuclear Safety: The principles and practices of nuclear safety, including the different types of hazards associated with nuclear reactors, radiation protection measures, and emergency preparedness.
Reactor Operation and Control Systems: The systems and technologies used to operate and control nuclear reactors, including reactor instrumentation and control, reactor kinetics, and reactor startups and shutdowns.
Nuclear Waste Management and Disposal: The different methods and technologies for managing and disposing of nuclear waste, including storage, recycling, and permanent disposal.
Nuclear Regulations and Standards: The different regulations and standards governing the operation and safety of nuclear reactors, including international treaties, government regulations, and industry standards.
Nuclear Reactor Accidents and Lessons Learned: Case studies on nuclear reactor accidents, including Chernobyl, Fukushima, and Three Mile Island, and the lessons learned from these incidents.
Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR): The most common type of nuclear reactor, in which water is used as both a coolant and a neutron moderator.
Boiling Water Reactor (BWR): Similar to PWRs, but with slightly different design and use of water that boils in the core of the reactor to produce steam.
Gas-Cooled Reactor (GCR): Uses carbon dioxide or helium as a coolant and graphite as a moderator.
Heavy Water Reactor (HWR): Also known as a CANDU reactor, uses heavy water as a neutron moderator and coolant.
Sodium-Cooled Fast Reactor (SFR): Uses liquid sodium as a coolant and has the ability to produce more fissile material than it consumes.
Molten Salt Reactor (MSR): Uses a molten fluoride or chloride salt as both a coolant and fuel.
Integral Fast Reactor (IFR): Uses liquid metal coolant and fuel recycling capabilities to better utilize and reduce nuclear waste.
High-Temperature Gas Reactor (HTGR): Uses helium gas as a coolant and graphite as a moderator, with the ability to operate at higher temperatures for use in power generation or production of hydrogen.
Pebble Bed Reactor (PBR): Uses small spherical pellets of fuel and graphite for both the moderator and structure, allowing for increased efficiency and safety.
Supercritical Water-Cooled Reactor (SCWR): Uses supercritical water as a coolant and neutron moderator, allowing for greater thermal efficiency and simpler design.
Accelerator-driven Subcritical Reactor (ADS): Uses a subcritical reactor coupled with a particle accelerator to generate fission reactions, providing increased safety and flexibility in operation.
"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."
"Nuclear generated steam in principle can be used for industrial process heat or for district heating."
"As of 2022, the International Atomic Energy Agency reports there are 422 nuclear power reactors in operation around the world."
"Some reactors are used to produce isotopes for medical and industrial use, or for production of weapons-grade plutonium."
"In the early era of nuclear reactors (1940s), a reactor was known as a nuclear pile or atomic pile."
"The graphite moderator blocks of the first reactor to reach criticality were stacked in a pile."
"A nuclear pile or atomic pile... because the graphite moderator blocks... were stacked."
"A nuclear reactor is a device used to initiate and control... fission nuclear chain reaction or nuclear fusion reactions."
"[...] a working fluid (water or gas)... runs through steam turbines."
"Nuclear generated steam in principle can be used for industrial process heat or for district heating."
"As of 2022, the International Atomic Energy Agency reports..."
"...there are 223 nuclear research reactors in operation around the world."
"Research reactors... produce isotopes for medical and industrial use."
"Some reactors are used... for production of weapons-grade plutonium."
"In the early era of nuclear reactors (1940s)..."
"The first reactor to reach criticality... graphite moderator blocks."
"Nuclear generated steam in principle can be used for industrial process heat or for district heating."
"There are 422 nuclear power reactors in operation around the world."