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The nuclear reactor of a nuclear power plant is usually considered to be the core and the pressure vessel in which it is encased. The control rods, which are in the core (and pulled some or all of the way out to run the reactor) have their associated rod drive motors on top of the pressure vessel. Instrumentation ports are up there, too. All of these things are generally considered to be the "nuclear reactor" portion of the primary system in the plant. A link is provided to a picture posted at Wikipedia. It has a portion of it colored to show the reactor core, but the pressure vessel is "cut away" to view the core. The control rods (#1 in the drawing) are shown as being on top. That's incorrect. The rod drive motors and control rod lead ("leed" and not "led") screws are up there. (The lead screws connect the control rods, which are down in among the fuel bundles, to the rod drive motors, which are up on top of the pressure vessel's cap.) The rods belong in the core, or in the area above the core when they are pulled out. The whole thing, the core, the vessel, and the rod drive motors as well as the instrumentation on top are considered to be the "nuclear reactor" in a power plant. If asked to identify the picture, the most correct response is probably, "It's a cut-away drawing of a nuclear reactor." That means everything in the picture is part of the nuclear reactor.

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Are nuclear reactors and nuclear power plants the same?

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.


What part of a nuclear power plant that undergoes a fission reaction called?

The part of a nuclear power plant that undergoes a fission reaction is called the reactor core. This is where the nuclear fuel, such as uranium or plutonium, is housed and where the chain reaction occurs to produce heat energy.


When did reactor number 4 explode?

Reactor number 4 at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine exploded on April 26, 1986.


What is the part of a nuclear power plant that undergoes a fission reaction?

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.


What is their relationship to the Fukushima Nuclear Power plant?

The Fukushima Nuclear Power plant is a Japanese nuclear power plant in which the reactor meltdown occurred after the tsunami and earthquake in 2011. It is a site of paramount historical global significance to the nuclear energy and safety sector.

Related Questions

What is the function of a nuclear reactor of a nuclear plant?

simply, the nuclear reactor is the source of heat (or steam) for the nuclear power plant.


Block diagram of a nuclear power station?

The heart of a nuclear power plant is the nuclear reactor.


What is the difference between nuclear reactor and nuclearpower plant?

a nuclear reactor converts binding energy into heat. a nuclear power plant uses a nuclear reactor to generate electricity.


What do power plant lines do for a nuclear reactor?

lead


What was the worst reactor accident in history?

the reactor accident at the chernobyl nuclear power plant.


What is the difference between nuclear power plant and nuclear reactor?

It's really just a matter of degree, all reactors produce some power. Those used in a power plant will produce perhaps 3000 to 5000 Megawatts thermal. Low power reactors producing a few kilowatts are used for experiments, teaching in universities, and for producing radioisotopes by irradiating samples, but reactors in this sort of power level would not be harnessed to produce electricity, the heat produced if large enough would be removed and rejected to the atmosphere or to a water cooling circuit. This makes them simple to operate and to start and stop as required.


Where was the first nuclear power plant in the US?

The Shippingport reactor was the first full-scale PWR nuclear power plant in the United States.


Is the nuclear reaction in a nuclear power plant controlled or uncontrolled?

Controlled! ...if the reactor is working properly.


How is nuclear energy changed into electrical energy in a nuclear power plant?

Steam from the heat of the reactor.


How much uranium is need to power a nuclear power plant for eighteen months?

Depending on: - the type of the nuclear reactor - the electrical power of the nuclear reactor - the type of the nuclear fuel - the enrichment of uranium - the estimated burnup of the nuclear fuel etc.


Are nuclear reactors and nuclear power plants the same?

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.


What is a nuclear powerstation?

A nuclear power plant is a thermal power station. The heat source is nuclear reactor. Its main point is to produce electricity.