fuel assemblies in the core.
A nuclear chain reaction nuclear fission
A nuclear chain reaction nuclear fission
The chain reaction can be controlled, and it can be stopped. It is controlled in a nuclear power plant, and it is stopped when the plant shuts down, as it does periodically for refueling.
Nuclear fission
A nuclear power plant uses a slow, controlled nuclear chain reaction to heat water and generate electricity. A nuclear bomb uses a very rapid uncontrolled nuclear chain reaction in order to generate a massive explosion.
The nuclear reaction used in the Bataan power plant is nuclear fission.
Nuclear energy is obtained by the fissioning of nuclei of uranium235, in a controlled chain reaction in a nuclear reactor, which produces heat that can be converted to electricity by normal power plant methods.
True, only fissionable isotopes that produce enough excess neutrons to sustain a chain reaction can be used directly as fuel.However fertile isotopes that capture neutrons and then transmute to fissionable isotopes can be used indirectly as fuel through a process called breeding.
In order for fissile material to become a nuclear bomb, a sufficient amount of it must be assembled to exceed critical mass, and must be "held" there for a short period to allow the chain reaction to build sufficiently. By using conventional explosives to drive subcritical masses of nuclear material (like uranium or plutonium) together in an instant to achieve critical mass and cause the material to become supercritical, we can get a nuclear blast. Anything less will create a "dud" with no blast but only a release of some energy and the forcing apart of the nuclear material. If nuclear material is concentrated and critical mass is achieved, nuclear fission will occur and a chain reaction will build. But the energy released will be so great that it will attempt to force the nuclear material apart and stop the reaction. In a nuclear reactor, we achieve criticality and build a chain, but it is not able to go "run away" and behave like a nuclear weapon. Any "accident" or even a "catastrophe" at a reactor plant will only allow the melting of core material and the release of radiation. No blast will occur because there is no "force" to keep a critical mass of material together for a sufficient period to allow the chain to build to a high enough level to get that blast.
In 1942 Ricardo Husada invented the nuclear reactor. His team produced the first nuclear chain reaction! 1954 - Worlds first nuclear power plant (Russia) started generating electricity. The first large-scale nuclear power station opened at Calder Hall in Cumbria, England, in 1956.
There are many ways a nuclear accident may occur, however most nuclear power plant accident occur due to problem in an reactor.
in a bomb it is an uncontrolled runaway reaction that completes in roughly 10 microseconds with the detonation of the core of the bomb.in a reactor it is a controlled steady reaction that continues for hours to years, until the operators shut the reactor down for maintenance.