![]() ![]() ![]() Natural uranium is mostly made up of uranium-238 (99.3%), with uranium-235 (0.7%) and very small amount of uranium-234 (0.0055%). An element is defined by the number of protons within the nucleus, and varying numbers of neutrons in the nucleus can cause it to behave differently. Not all nuclei of a given element are built exactly the same. These assemblies are used in boiling and pressurized water reactors, and are packed into the core to produce heat in a nuclear reaction. There can be hundreds of fuel bundles in a nuclear reactor, meaning there can be tens of thousands of fuel rods. These fuel rods are assembled into a fuel bundle, as seen below. The uranium fuel is manufactured into small fuel pellets and are packed into fuel rods and surrounded by cladding to avoid leaking into the coolant. The naturally occurring isotopes are found in countries such as Kazakhstan, Canada and Australia. Uranium is the most common element used as a nuclear fuel, although thorium is also possible. Nuclear reactors require the use of nuclear fuels, elements that can be readily altered and will release thermal energy. Although the basic principles appear simple, the process is fairly complex. The basic operating principles of a nuclear reactor for the production of power are as follows: Nuclear chain reactions within the reactor produce heat, which is transferred to a coolant (most commonly light water), the coolant either boils to steam directly or heats another loop of water into steam, it then passes through a turbine which spins a generator, and produces electricity. If you would like to read about nuclear fusion, please visit its page here. The difference between each type of fission reactor comes from the different approaches used to satisfy these requirements.įor this article, nuclear fission will be primarily discussed due to its current use around the world. ![]() Although there are many different designs for fission reactors, most consist of the same components for their operation. Used in nuclear power plants, fission reactors contribute about 11% of the world's total electricity. Nuclear reactors can be found all over the world. Nuclear reactors are primarily used for the generation of electricity, however they can be used for propulsion in vehicles such as submarines or naval vessels, for production of useful isotopes or neutrons, and for research and training. These nuclear reactions produce thermal energy through either nuclear fission (in practice) or nuclear fusion (in development). Ī nuclear reactor is a system used to initiate and contain a nuclear chain reaction, and they have many useful applications. ![]()
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