The differences between nuclear reactors and nuclear bombs include what?

Answer 1

Nuclear reactors produce exactly one additional fission for each fission reaction while nuclear bombs don't

Nuclear bombs are runaway fission reactions and reactors aren't

(APEX)

Answer 2

Nuclear reactors:

• they are made to make energy
• they store energy

Nuclear bombs:

• they are meant to destroyy
• they dont store energy but spread it

Nuclear reactors produce exactly one additional fission for each fission reaction while nuclear bombs don't.

Nuclear bombs are runaway fission reactions and reactors aren't.

Answer 3

The fission reaction in a weapon is intended to maximally convert the core into energy in an uncontrolled fashion using super prompt criticality. The fission reaction in a power plant is intended to provide a steady stream of energy in a controlled fashion by keeping criticality at KEffective = 1.

Answer 4

The nuclear fission is the same, it is the state of criticality and thus the rate of change in nuclear fission that is different.

• in a subcritical assembly the rate of nuclear fission slows, eventually stopping
• in a critical assembly (i.e. nuclear reactor) the rate of nuclear fission holds constant, control rods provide a means to adjust the reactor from subcritical (to slow nuclear fission and shut it down) to very slightly supercritical (to raise the nuclear fission rate and thus the power level in a controlled manner)
• in a supercritical assembly (i.e. atomic bomb) the rate of nuclear fission rises (usually exponentially) until the device suddenly disassembles (i.e. explodes)

• The difference between fissile material and fissionable material is that fissile material is a high purity "weapons grade" form of fissionable material and suitable for use in bombs, while fissionable material is intended for use in reactors (it may or may not be "weapons grade" depending on the requirements of the reactor design). For example fissile "weapons grade" uranium is typically enriched to more than 90% uranium-235 while fissionable "reactor" uranium is typically enriched to only 3% uranium-235. Enrichment is done to remove uranium-238, which is a neutron absorbing material.

Answer 5

actually, they are both the same thing, nuclear bomb is just a more modern saying of an atomic bomb.

Answer 6

They are the same thing.