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The reactor uses Uranium rods as fuel, and the heat is generated by nuclear fission: neutrons smash into the nucleus of the uranium atoms, which split roughly in half and release energy in the form of heat. Carbon dioxide gas or water is pumped through the reactor to take the heat away, this then heats water to make steam.

The steam is used to turn massive steam turbines which drive hugh machines called alternators to produce electricity. The electricity is then distributed to homes, factories, schools, hospitals, railways and all kinds of other users via an electric power distribution network called a national power grid.

More detail about how the uranium itself produced and usedThe consecutive processes to get power from nuclear energy is called the nuclear fuel cycle.

In simple terms this includes the following processes:

  • uranium mining
  • uranium milling (concentration and purification)
  • uranium conversion (into metal uranium, uranium dioxide, uranium hexafuoride, etc...)
  • uranium enrichment (only for nuclear reactors that require uranium enriched in U-235)
  • uranium fabrication into what is called fresh nuclear fuel assemblies (or elements or bundles or rods)
  • use of the nuclear fuel in the nuclear reactor of the nuclear power plant to produce power
  • nuclear fuel discharge (called spent or used fuel) after being irradiated in the nuclear reactor) and its replacement with new fresh fuel.
  • interim storage of the spent fuel to get rid of its major part of its decay heat and level of radioactivity.
  • then either:
    • reprocessing of the spent fuel for reuse of the remaining uranium and the produced plutonium in the fuel during fuel irradiation in the reactor, or
    • final disposal/storage of the spent nuclear fuel.
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