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Commercial nuclear reactors operating in the US and around the world come in many different sizes
and generation capacities. As an example, I found the "Quad Cities" power plant in western Illinois,
a couple hundred miles from my home.
The Quad Cities power plant is named for the nearby cities of Davenport, Rock Island, Moline, and
East Moline. It serves all four cities in addition to the western part of Exelon's service area in Illinois.
Quad Cities operates two boiling water reactors, each with a rated maximum capacity of 867 megawatts of
electricity. That's 867 million joules of energy per second out of each one, when it's running wide open
at max capacity.
It's a bit sloppy to speak of energy being "given off" by a nuclear reactor. Any energy "given off" by a
commercial power plant is energy that they can't ship out and sell. And in the case of a nuclear plant,
there are probably a lot of folks living in the neighborhood who would become a mite irritated if any of
that nuclear energy were to come drifting out between the cracks.
The energy generated by the nuclear reactions is kept tightly sealed inside the reactor, and the reactor
is enclosed inside many feet of concrete. The intense heat in the reactor is carried away by another sealed
system of water. The water boils, and runs steam turbine generators, just as if it had been boiled by a coal
or oil fire, instead of by nuclear fission converting mass to energy.
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What is the function of shielding in a nuclear reactor?
The first line of shielding is to limit the neutron bombardment of the pressure vessel, to give it a safe life of 40 or more years. Then you need to protect personnel who have to go into areas close to the reactor for maintenance, and also to limit the exposure of equipment which may need maintanance done during the life of the plant
What is the source of neutron in nuclear reactor?
Uranium-235 undergoes a small rate of natural spontaneous fission, so there are always some neutrons being produced even in a fully shutdown reactor. When the control rods are withdrawn and criticality is approached the number increases because the absorption of neutrons is being progressively reduced, until at criticality the chain reaction becomes self sustaining. Note that sometimes a neutron source is provided in the reactor, but this is not essential to start the chain reaction, it is to give a shutdown neutron population which is detectable by instruments and so make the approach to critical more observable. The reactor will go critical at the same control rod position whether a source is loaded or not.
Are joules small or large units?
To give you an idea: * A work of one joule is required to lift a mass of 102 grammes (a small book) one meter. * A 40-watt light-bulb uses 40 joules every second.To give you an idea: * A work of one joule is required to lift a mass of 102 grammes (a small book) one meter. * A 40-watt light-bulb uses 40 joules every second.To give you an idea: * A work of one joule is required to lift a mass of 102 grammes (a small book) one meter. * A 40-watt light-bulb uses 40 joules every second.To give you an idea: * A work of one joule is required to lift a mass of 102 grammes (a small book) one meter. * A 40-watt light-bulb uses 40 joules every second.
Describe how nuclear fusion generates the suns energy?
It is the process that produces all the sun's energy
How does the Nuclear fuel cycle process give off carbon emissions?
it does not
How many methods are there to give heat to the reactor?
If you mean a nuclear reactor, and not a chemical one, there is only one way, and that is by nuclear fission in the fuel
Can you give an example of nuclear energy?
Yes, the pressurised water reactor (PWR)
Use the word nuclear in a sentence?
I can give you several sentences.The nuclear reactor provides energy for our state.The nuclear family is becoming less common.Scientists studied the nuclear reaction.
What are the contents in nuclear reactor?
nuclear fuel (thorium, uranium, etc.), electron absorbing rod (krypton, boron, etc.), projectile (which give high speed to electron/proton),
Is Nuclear energy boon or bane give a suitable reply?
So far nuclear energy should be called bane. The waste disposal problems and reactor accidents outweigh its lack of emissions.
Why do nuclear reactors require a fissionable isotope?
The fissionable isotope is required for the nuclear reactor operation. The fissionable isotope when fissions it give energy due to the mass difference according to Einstein formula E = mc2
Why does a submarine get hot when they are under water?
Basic physics - machinery, electronics, and engines all give off a lot of heat, not to mention the reactor if it's a nuclear powered boat.
How can you measure nuclear energy?
For a quick indication of a nuclear reactor's power level, an instrument sensitive to the neutron flux is used. That is, it gives a signal proportional to the number of neutrons per second at the point the detection chamber is placed. By calculation, the signal can be related to the reactor power, but is not likely to be accurate, and chambers vary in sensitivity. Therefore to get an accurate figure the reactor power has to be obtained from thermal measurements, ie temperatures of the coolant and its flow rate, and the flux detector can then be calibrated to give a more accurate figure.
How do you you convert cal to joules?
1 calorie = 4.1858 joules 1 joule = 0.2389029576186153 calories As an example, convert 5 calories to joules. 1 calorie = 4.1858 joules, therefore 5 calories = 4.1858 x 5 joules = 20.929 joules. So when converting calories to joules, multiply the number of calories by 4.1858 to give you the number of joules.
How can you find the efficiency of an AGR nuclear reactor?
You can work out the gas flow from the gas circulator characteristics, and measure the reactor inlet and outlet temperatures, so you can work out the reactor thermal output. Then you can measure the thermal conditions in the steam circuit from feed flow and temperature and steam temperature and pressure, this will give the reactor thermal output together with the gas circulator heat input. From all this data work out the best estimate for the reactor output. The generator output is straightforward, then you have to subtract the power being used on the plant for driving the gas circulators and feed pumps etc, to get the net electrical output, then it is just the ratio of that to the reactor thermal output.
What is the function of shielding in a nuclear reactor?
The first line of shielding is to limit the neutron bombardment of the pressure vessel, to give it a safe life of 40 or more years. Then you need to protect personnel who have to go into areas close to the reactor for maintenance, and also to limit the exposure of equipment which may need maintanance done during the life of the plant
Can a nuclear power reactor be cool externaly by space on spacecraft?
On a spacecraft the reactor thermal output would probably be used to make electricity directly using an array of thermocouples. It would not be using a steam/water cycle as in land based power plants. Without knowing what the system design would be, it's difficult to give a definite answer.
