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1. releases large amounts of energy from small amounts of mass
2. very efficient
3. convert nuclear energy into thermal energy
4. the fuel lasts a long time
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∙ 10y ago
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How are nuclear reactors kept safe?
There are many safety procedures put in place to keep a nuclear reactor safe, first of all control rods are used inside the reactor to stop the fission reaction running out of control and melting the reactor core, constant water(coolant) is kept pumping around the reactor cool and to help soak up some of the neutrons and x-ray scans are used to check that there are no natural cracks inside the reactor.
What are some of the dangers inherent in a nuclear reactor?
There are a few dangers that are inherent in a nuclear reactor. The major danger inherent in a nuclear reactor is the effects of radiation. Radiation poisoning can be extremely deadly and harmful. Other inherent dangers include radioactive waste and the potential catastrophic damage of an accident such as at Chernobyl.
What were some of the uses for the first nuclear reactor?
The very first nuclear reactor was Chicago Pile 1. It was built for research and scientific use. The first nuclear reactor outside of a university was built (at Hanford, Washington) primarily to yield plutonium for the atomic bomb destined for Nagasaki, Japan. Nuclear reactors were built primarily for electrical generation beginning in about 1951.
How can nuclear reactors be dangerous?
The purpose of a nuclear reactor is to create and sustain a fission chain reaction in order to produce heat to make steam to drive turbines and produce electrical power (extremely simplified explanation). A fission chain reaction is the interaction of neutrons with fissile materials (elements that can be fissioned). Some enriched fuel (such as uranium-238) is introduced into the reactor core. It produces neutrons as radiation. If more fissile material is present ("fuel" such as uranium-235), that interaction repeats to make more neutrons, and so on. A nuclear reactor is designed to sustain a fission chain reaction and control the rate at which that reaction occurs. The nuclear core of a reactor, where the nuclear fuel is, needs to be shielded so that the radiation and any radioactive components inside do not escape into the general environment. The primary radiation type inside the core is neutron radiation. One of the best shields for neutron radiation is a hydrogen-dense substance, thus pure water is often used. Water, if circulated in a heat sink system, also serves as a heat-removal method (cooling system). The enclosure for the core and the water pool is a containment vessel made out of something that is airtight and which shields against other kinds of direct radiation. Steel is a common material, perhaps supplemented by concrete and other reinforcement to guard against being damaged by an earthquake, explosion, or an airplane impact (for example). There is usually an outer containment building that encloses the reactor containment vessel itself. This is a sort of "second line of defense" in case the reactor is breached. Containment buildings are designed to withstand extremely high internal pressures (such as superheated steam) and forces of almost any direction and realistic magnitude. The specific shape of buildings at a nuclear plant are part of their function. The concave towers that are so symbolic of nuclear power are a common design for cooling towers (and not the reactor core itself). Domes are a common shape for reactor containment buildings for a variety of reasons that have mostly to do with encouraging steam condensation.
Is there a substitute for uranium for nuclear reactors?
Only plutonium! Is that any better?Actually all the transuranics can make suitable fuel for nuclear reactors, especially Americium. The Integral Fast Breeder(IFB) reactor was designed to reprocess Uranium and all the transuranics produced into fuel rods onsite, leaving only the short lived fission products as waste, which would only require storage for a couple centuries (not hundreds of thousands of years as current waste with the transuranics still in it does). Some of these fission products have industrial and/or medical uses and would be worth separating from the waste.
What are some nonexamples fo nuclear fission?
Pressurised Water Reactor (PWR), Boiling Water Reactor (BWR)
Which section of a nuclear reactor does nuclear fission occur?
The fission happens in the fuel, which is usually in fuel rods inside the reactor. The rods are spaced at a particular distance apart and fill the reactor.
What are some advantages to using a fusion reactor to produce electricity?
it should be radiologically cleaner than fission
Which elements are used for nuclear reactors in India?
Uranium. There is some interest in using thorium in the future. Thorium cannot be used directly as fuel in a reactor as it does not fission, it requires a fast breeder reactor to convert it to Uranium-233 which does fission.
What is meant by chain reaction in nuclear reactor?
Basically a chain reaction (nuclear or chemical) is a self sustaining auto-catalytic reaction.In a nuclear reactor it is a neutron chain reaction, where each neutron released in every fission event can trigger another fission event. In a nuclear reactor the excess neutrons must be disposed of, which is the purpose of the control rods so that the reaction can be kept at some desired constant rate.
What is the purpose of control rods in a nuclear reactor?
A nuclear reactor requires the neutrons released from one reaction to trigger the fission of other nuclei. Control rods are required to absorb some of these neutrons so as to prevent a runaway chain reaction.
How long does it take a nuclear reactor to cool?
The time it takes to cool a nuclear reactor down varies. If a reactor has been running at nearly full power and is shut down, it takes several days to even weeks to cool it down. The size of the reactor and the "aggressiveness" of a cooling system will affect the cooldown time as well as the power levels at which the reactor was operating at before shutdown. If a reactor has been operating for some time at high power and is shut down, fission in the core stops (as it does in any shutdown). But fission products in the core are at a high level because the reactor was operating at high power. These fission products will continue to decay for some time. The decaying fission products will be creating a lot of residual heat for this extended period, too.
The cadmium in the control rods slows down a nuclear fission reaction by absorbing neutrons true or false?
True. Cadmium (and boron plus some other elements) absorbs neutrons, thus limiting or slowing the fission chain in a nuclear reactor.
How is the energy in the reactor made to drive a turbine?
The fuel in the core of a nuclear reactor goes into a chain reaction of nuclear fission. This happens because atoms of some isotopes in the fuel undergo spontaneous fission, producing neutrons, which cause other atoms to undergo fission, and so on. The fission produces a lot of heat. The heat is typically used to boil water, which is used to turn a turbine. And finally, the turbine turns a generator to make electricity.
What are the example of nuclear fission?
The only example of nuclear fission in a naturally occurring material is of Uranium 235, which comprises 0.7 percent of natural uranium, the rest being Uranium 238 which is not fissile. To use U235 in a nuclear reactor it is usually enriched to about 4 percent first, though reactors have been designed to use natural uranium. These have to use graphite or heavy water as moderator, as normal water absorbs too many neutrons. During reactor operation some of the U238 absorbs a neutron and becomes Plutonium 239 which is also fissile, so this contributes to a proportion of the reactor power which increases as the fuel is used and the U235 diminishes.
What are some cautions of nuclear power?
Reactor fuels contain dangerous radioactive fission products after use, so the spent fuel rods must be carefully handled and stored.
Does the water used to cool a nuclear reactor get contaminated?
In a properly operating nuclear reactor, water used to cool the reactor is not contaminated. This water, called primary coolant, is quite pure. And after shutdown and cooldown, the water has little radiation in it. But if the reactor has some malfunction that overheats the fuel, fuel elements can rupture or melt (a meltdown) and fission products, which are hightly radioactive, can be released into the coolant (the water). The water is then contaminated.
