The way a reactor works is rods of a radioactive material(say, uranium),are put into a bath of water, the heat from the radioactivity causes the water to vaporize. The steam then runes through wheels, the steam pushes the wheels and the wheels turning is used to generate electricity. But the heat is caused by radiation.
Heat is eliminated through use of reactor coolant passing over the nuclear fuel in the primary coolant loops.
Process heat and electricity generation.
Yes, a power reactor is a type of thermal reactor. Power reactors use nuclear fission to produce heat, which is then used to generate electricity. The heat generated in the reactor comes from the controlled chain reaction of nuclear fission, making it a thermal reactor.
No, a nuclear reactor cannot detonate like a nuclear bomb. Nuclear reactors use controlled fission reactions to generate heat for electricity, while nuclear bombs use uncontrolled chain reactions to create an explosion. The design and purpose of a reactor prevent it from causing a nuclear explosion.
If you are a smart guy, you can make a nuclear bomb, or a nuclear reactor...
A nuclear reactor contains a nuclear reaction, provides support for the control mechanisms for the reaction, and provides for the transfer of heat to machinery that will use it to produce electric power.
The amount of coolant used in a nuclear power reactor can vary depending on the design of the reactor. Generally, a nuclear power reactor may use thousands to millions of gallons of water or a different coolant material to remove heat generated during the nuclear fission process. The coolant circulates through the reactor core to transfer heat and help regulate the temperature of the reactor.
A breeder reactor is one type of nuclear reactor, but not a type that is in general commercial use at the present time
The coolant in a nuclear is used to transfer the heat produced in the nuclear fuel to a steam generator to make steam. This cools the core of the reactor and couples out the thermal energy (heat) that we can use to make steam to generate electricity. We might also note that a gas turbine could potentially be used with a high temperature gas-cooled reactor like the proposed pebble bed design.
the nuclear reactor exploded
Not really. It depends on what you are trying to do. A nuclear power plant is a power plant that uses a nuclear reactor as its source of energy. A nuclear reactor, on the other hand, is a more generalized term for a device that uses nuclear energy (specifically the release of binding energy from the Strong Atomic Force) to do something. In the general case, we use the reactor to generate energy for the power plant to use in generating electricity. Sometimes, we use the reactor for other, research type things, such as generating a neutron flux to study the physics of nuclide activation.
Burn a fossil fuel like coal or oil, or use uranium in a nuclear reactor