Want this question answered?
The uranium 235 atoms in the nuclear fuel are what actually fission, or split into two other atoms. The uranium is in ceramic fuel pellets that are inserted into fuel rods, that make up fuel elements, that are in the reactor core that is located in the reactor vessel of the nuclear power plant. After the fuel has been in the reactor it begins to produce plutonium 239 atoms within the fuel which will also undergo a fission reaction.
Nuclear fusion; hydrogen into helium.
Nuclear fission takes place in the nuclear fuel rods that are placed in the reactor core that is situated in the reactor pressure vessel. The reactor pressure vessel is usually situated inside the reactor containment.
The sun's nuclear reactions are fusion reactions at extremely high temperatures and pressures, while the nuclear reactor's nuclear reactions are fission reactions at typical temperatures and pressures for earth.
In the reactor core, which is the volume filled with the fuel assemblies
Nuclear fission, not to be confused with fusion.
The uranium 235 atoms in the nuclear fuel are what actually fission, or split into two other atoms. The uranium is in ceramic fuel pellets that are inserted into fuel rods, that make up fuel elements, that are in the reactor core that is located in the reactor vessel of the nuclear power plant. After the fuel has been in the reactor it begins to produce plutonium 239 atoms within the fuel which will also undergo a fission reaction.
In the core of a nuclear reactor
In a fission reactor, control is implemented by inserting control rods into the reactor. These are made of a material that absorbs neutrons, and prevents a reaction from taking place.
Nuclear fusion; hydrogen into helium.
Nuclear fission takes place in the nuclear fuel rods that are placed in the reactor core that is situated in the reactor pressure vessel. The reactor pressure vessel is usually situated inside the reactor containment.
The sun's nuclear reactions are fusion reactions at extremely high temperatures and pressures, while the nuclear reactor's nuclear reactions are fission reactions at typical temperatures and pressures for earth.
The core of the reactor contains the nuclear fuel. Having a moderator in place within the core ensures that the nuclear fuel is processed at an accurate time duration. This can prevent serious problems from occurring within the entire nuclear reactor.
The #4 reactor is the reactor at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant (Pripyat, Ukraine) that exploded on April 26, 1986. It is still the worst nuclear accident to ever take place anywhere.
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.
If we are just considering the "basic" nuclear reaction in a "regular" nuclear reactor, the particles of interest are the uranium-235 atoms (which are fissionable), and the neutrons, which get loose and cause fissions when they are absorbed by the U-235 atoms. We could broaden this to include some other reactions, but this is a fabulous place to begin to investigate nuclear physics.
In the reactor core, which is the volume filled with the fuel assemblies