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A nuclear reactor is controlled and operates at exact critical state (no neutron multiplication). If it went out of control and went supercritical (like a bomb), the neutron multiplication factor could only rise a little before a meltdown occurred and the fuel rearranged itself into subcritical form and the reactor shut itself down (meltdowns are good, but expensive to repair). Most reactors operate with low enriched fuel (about 3% to 5% Uranium-235), you need high enriched fuel (at least 20%, typically 93.5% uranium-235) to get the prompt supercriticalstate required in a bomb.
Having said all that, nuclear reactors can have chemicaland pressure pulse explosions, but these are not nuclear explosions. One type of chemical explosion that can occur is a hydrogen gas explosion; this is caused when there is a LOCA and exposed zirconium clad fuel rods overheat, when water splashes thee overheated rods it decomposes into hydrogen and oxygen. Enough hydrogen collects and an electrical spark happen and Boom! This has not happened in commercial reactors. Pressure pulse explosions (like the steam explosion at Chernobyl) happen when there is a sudden energy pulse in the reactor and the coolant can't carry away the heat, resulting in flash vaporization that overpressurizes the cooling system causing pipes and/or tanks to burst.
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What happens when a nuclear reactor in a nuclear submarrine explodes?
It can't explode like a nuclear bomb. It could have a steam explosion, as can any steam power plant. It is also possible for it to build up hydrogen gas if it runs too hot and damages its fuel rods, the hydrogen could explode.
What are the similarities in a nuclear power plant and a nuclear bomb?
both obtain their power from the atomic nucleus, that is about where the similarity ends.
Can an improperly operated nuclear power plant explode like a nuclear weapon?
Nuclear reactors can not explode like a nuclear bomb. A lot of bad things can happen, but that is not one of them. Nonnuclear Explosion: First, it is useful to distinguish "normal" explosion from nuclear bomb. (We'll get to the bomb part shortly.) Explosions of many kinds can occur and they can occur at nuclear power plants and reactors just as anywhere else. It is not odd to have a steam powered explosion at a power plant whether it is nuclear or coal or gas because all of these types of power plants are converting heat into mechnical energy through a trubine or similar machine and the turbine generates electricity. The heat creates steam at high pressure and a mechanical failure can result in an explosion. An explosion of the sort caused by excess heat or mechanical failure counts as one resulting from mismanagement. Explosions can be caused by humans too. A human can place a regular bomb at a nuclear power plant or a human can fire a missile at a power plant and then the power plant, nuclear or not, explodes. Nuclear Bomb Explosions: The principle behind a nuclear bomb is the idea of the chain reaction. Nuclear fission is the process of a large nucleus, like uranium, breaking apart into smaller pieces and releasing energy in the process. When one nucleus decays, it causes other nuclei to decay and they in turn cause more. Such is a chain reaction, it feeds itself and the process grows and results in an explosion as long as there is enough fuel. That last part is the key because you can't make a nuclear bomb explode (or any bomb) if you run out of fuel. Now, we get to the part about "weapons grade" nuclear material. A nuclear weapon requires a high concentration of fissionable material of the proper type and enough of it and a way to keep it in place long enough for the chain reaction to produce enough energy to be a bomb. Nuclear reactors are not built with weapons grade material. That is essential. Further, the elaborate process of containment to hold the bomb material in place requires special engineering and that is not in a nuclear reactor. The quantity of material required for a bomb is very very large unless it is highly purified and it is not so purified in nuclear reactors. No mismanaged nuclear plant, no nuclear plant accident of any kind, can cause a massive nuclear explosion like the blast of a nuclear weapon. Nuclear Powered (non-bomb) Explosions: Though a reactor can't explode like a nuclear bomb, the explosions that can occur are extremely dangerous and can spew radioactive materials widely, they are just not nuclear bomb explosions. Usually the explosions allow the radioactive core of reacting material to overheat and the radioactive material from several separate areas may combine and further heat, enhancing the ongoing nuclear chain reactions. It is not possible to go through explanations of the various scenarios, but under the worst conditions, the heated material explodes like a regular bomb and spreads itself over a large area destroying everything nearby. It is not nearly as large as a true nuclear bomb which can level a city. What is does do is spead a lot of radioactive material around. The process does not even have to explode to do that, it can just heat up enough to vaporize radioactive materials that are then released. All of the examples of nuclear reactor disasters fall into the category on non-bomb disasters. All were and will be the type that creates and disperses harmful radioactive material and that is the core of the problem. Final Note: Though no sane design of a nuclear reactor could explode like a nuclear bomb, the process of making the materials the reactor uses is a process that could potentially make weapons grade material. Further, the used fuel can serve as a starting material for bomb making. In that case, it is not the reactor but the treatment of material before or after that can be directed towards a weapon. The subject gets very complicated and this little description could not provide a person with enough information to say they understand it. More reading is recommended.
What is the difference in a nuclear power plant and a nuclear bomb?
A nuclear power plant uses a slow, controlled nuclear chain reaction to heat water and generate electricity. A nuclear bomb uses a very rapid uncontrolled nuclear chain reaction in order to generate a massive explosion.
Why nuclear power plant explodes?
Nuclear power plants don't explode, in the style of a nuclear bomb. That particular super prompt criticality is impossible to maintain for the length of time necessary to consume the core, leading to a true, nuclear detonation. If you are thinking about the explosions that occurred at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Plant, those were hydrogen gas explosions. Hydrogen gas built up as a consequence of the high temperature of the zircalloy fuel pins in contact with water. When additional water was added to help cool the fuel, the hydrogen combined with the oxygen in the water under temperature and exploded. Again, it was not a nuclear explosion.
What year did the nuclear bomb explode in hiroshima?
1945
When did Pakistan explode their first atomic bomb?
18th May1998, but its not atomic bomb (its nuclear bomb)
Can a nuclear bomb explode in space and produce a mushroom cloud?
No
Will cars be affected by electromagnetic force when nuclear bomb explode?
Yes.
Did chernobyl explode like a bomb?
It did explode, but this was due to a surge in steam pressure which blew off the top of the reactor, it was not a nuclear explosion as in a nuclear weapon.
What happens when a nuclear reactor in a nuclear submarrine explodes?
It can't explode like a nuclear bomb. It could have a steam explosion, as can any steam power plant. It is also possible for it to build up hydrogen gas if it runs too hot and damages its fuel rods, the hydrogen could explode.
How powerful is a nuclear bomb compared to the sun?
The power of a nuclear bomb is a very tiny fraction of the power of the sun.
Can atoms explode?
if you mean by split then yes one example of this would be a nuclear bomb.
What are some results of nuclear fission?
The destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Every single one of the nuclear power plants. Every atom bomb and Hydrogen bombs.
Did the nuclear bomb dropped on japan explode on impact or in mid air?
The bombs that were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were atomic bombs and not nuclear bombs and were designed to explode above the ground and not on impact.
Use nuclear in a sentence?
It was a nuclear bomb. Everyone was afraid of a nuclear bomb. The nuclear power plant malfunctioned. The Cold War was about fear of nuclear attack.
Why go from atomic energy to a bomb?
Actually the bombs came first, nuclear power plants were not developed until the early 1950s
