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Mostly at present they are AGR's that is Advanced Gascooled Reactors, using carbon dioxide coolant, graphite moderator, and slightly enriched fuel clad in stainless steel sheaths. There is one PWR running and all new ones built will be PWR.
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Can plutonium be used to fuel nuclear reactors?
Yes, but it would not be used in a pure form, because it would be too concentrated for a power reactor. In the UK and France plutonium has been used in what is called MOX (Mixed Oxide) Fuel, where plutonium and uranium oxides are mixed to make fuel with roughly the same fissile content as enriched uranium fuel. I don't believe this technique has been used yet in the US,where spent fuel processing is not in operation so the plutonium is not being separated to make it available. However there may be plutonium available from ex-military stocks, and this could be used if required to supplement the amount of U-235 available.
When was the first nuclear plant built?
The first commercial nuclear power plant in the US was built in 1957 in Shippingport, Pennsylvania. The first commercial nuclear power plant in the world was built in 1956 in Calder Hill, UK.
What are the important components of a nuclear power plant?
A:The elements used in nuclear power station are radioactive elements such as thorium (Th), polonium, radium (Ra), uranium (U), etc. some moderators are also used like deuterium( isotope of hydrogen). A:The radioactive elements used for fuel in nuclear power stations must have certain important characteristics in addition to being radioactive. They need to be fissionable or fertile. There are two such elements occurring in nature, and these are uranium and thorium. Additional synthetic elements exist of this type, and the most important of these for nuclear power is plutonium. There are other complication to nuclear power, importantly that there must be a neutron source, and so, for example, uranium must be enriched to increase the number of neutrons, as its neutron source is uranium-235, which is not present in sufficient quantities in naturally occurring uranium.
What country built the first nuclear power plant and what year?
This was built in the UK at Calder Hall, opened 1956
Which is the first nuclear power plant in the world?
The world's first nuclear power plant was Obinsk, in the former USSR, in 1954, rated 6 MWe. It was a "semi-experimental" facility. The next plant was Calder Hall, in the UK, in 1956, rated 4 x 60 MWe, but it was primarily used to generate Plutonium for military purposes. The world's first full scale nuclear power plant was at Shippingport, Pennsylvania, US, in 1957, rated 60 MWe.
How are nuclear reactors classified?
There are 1. Light water reactors. PWR and BWR, 2. Heavy water reactors, CANDU mainly, 3. Gas cooled reactors, mainly magnox and AGR in the UK, possibly pebble bed reactors not yet built 4. 'Fast' reactors which do not use moderators, liquid metal cooled. 5. Small research reactors also used to produce radioisotopes for medical and industrial use.There are a few other diverse types like the Russian RBMK (Chernobyl), now obsolete.
What are types of atomic energy?
Nuclear energy is a type of atomic energy. [1]Nuclear energy can be created by atomic Fission (like in out nuclear power plants), or atomic Fusion (like in the Sun).
Nuclear power history?
first power reactors were Calder Hall (UK 1956) and Shippingport (US 1958)
Most of the world's nuclear reactors are of the type?
Most are lightwater moderated and cooled, these are the PWR and BWR. There also a substantial number of heavy water reactors, based on CANDU, and gas cooled reactors mainly now in the UK.
Where is nuclear energy being used now?
All around the world! In the United States alone there are 104 nuclear reactors producing around 20% of our electricity. Large power reactors are used to produce electricity for the public. Smaller reactors are used to make radioisotopes for medical treatments and for research into physics. Naval reactors provide propulsion for submarines and ships.
How many nuclear reactors were there in France in 1973?
In 1973 nuclear power in France was at a cross-roads. The earlier gas cooled graphite reactors (eight were built), similar to the magnox design in the UK, were clearly not adequate for future power demands, and decisions were made to follow the PWR route in future. I do not have details of when these eight reactors were shutdown, but they existed in 1973. There was also a small PWR at Chooz, of 310 MWe output, and there was a prototype fast reactor Phenix of 250 MWe. Superphenix came later. So the simple answer was ten reactors (that is power reactors, excluding small research reactors)
What is the most harmful energy used in the UK?
it is nuclear
Where could you find nuclear energy?
In the US there are 104 operating reactors. See www.nrc.gov for more information. Other countries with substantial nuclear power include France, Germany, UK, Canada, Russia, S Korea, Japan.
How much energy comes from nuclear power in the UK?
There are 14 AGR reactors, two of the old magnox reactors, and one PWR operating in the UK. Their total output can be obtained from the tables in the link below. Table 5.4 gives fuel use in millions of tonnes of oil equivalent
Why is graphite used in nuclear reactors?
Graphite can be used as a moderator, that is to slow down the fast neutrons produced in fission. Early reactors including Hanford and Windscale used graphite, and in the UK this type of reactor was built extensively for power production. However water reactors such as PWR and BWR have proved cheaper to build and have a longer life, so graphite is now little used, there are a few still running but none being planned or built as far as I know.
Why is the UK in favor of having many nuclear energy reactors?
Nuclear energy is back in favour, at least in Government circles, because it does not produce CO2 pollution, and also because reserves of natural gas from the North Sea fields are becoming depleted. I don't know about many reactors, perhaps up to 10 in the next ten years is more likely.
Did the UK or America drop a nuclear bomb on the Taliban?
no!!! nuclear weapons have not been used since ww2.
