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Nuclear Reactors
Nuclear reactors are devices that maintain nuclear reactions. They are used in creating power and elements.
890 Questions
What type of radiation is released by a chernobyl nuclear reactor?
The Chernobyl nuclear reactor released primarily gamma radiation, along with beta particles and alpha particles. Gamma radiation is highly penetrating and can travel through materials, while beta particles can be stopped by materials like plastic or glass, and alpha particles are less penetrating but can cause significant harm if ingested or inhaled. The release of these radiations contributed to the widespread contamination and health effects observed following the disaster.
What is rotatory disc reactor?
A rotatory disc reactor is a type of chemical reactor that utilizes a rotating disc to enhance mixing and reaction rates. The rotating motion creates a thin film of reactants on the disc's surface, promoting efficient mass and heat transfer. This design is particularly effective for processes involving liquid-phase reactions, such as in the production of fine chemicals and pharmaceuticals. The continuous operation and improved contact between reactants can lead to higher yields and shorter reaction times compared to conventional reactors.
What is meant by nuclear reactor?
It is a reactor, where atomic nuclei are either combined (fusion) or split (fission), with the consequent release of energy .
That great big bright yellow UFO ( unidentified flying object) in the sky , the SUN is a giant nuclear reactor, whereby hydrogen nuclei are fused together to form helium nuclei. , with the consequent release of energy ; electromagnetic waves( heat, radio waves, UV waves , light etc.,)
If we could see inside a nuclear reactor on Earth it would just look the same, however, nuclear reactors on Earth are just used to collect heat, for electric generation.
How heavy water is used to make plutonium from uranium?
Heavy water can be used in a nuclear reactor to moderate the speed of neutrons, making it easier for uranium-238 to absorb a neutron and become plutonium-239. This process is known as breeding plutonium in a reactor and is one method of producing plutonium for nuclear weapons or fuel.
Where did a nuclear reactor explode in 1986?
A nuclear reactor exploded in 1986 at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine. The explosion released a large amount of radioactive material into the atmosphere, making it one of the worst nuclear disasters in history.
How do nuclear reactors use periscopes?
Nuclear reactors do not typically use periscopes. Periscopes are usually used in submarines to see above water while remaining submerged. Nuclear reactors utilize control rooms with monitoring equipment and cameras to observe and control the reactor's operations.
What is source of the large amounts of energy released in nuclear reactors and in the sun?
Reactors - fission
Sun - fusion
The energy released from fission and fusion is excess nuclear force, also known as residual binding energy.
Binding energy, also known as the strong atomic force, holds quarks together to form protons and neutrons. It is stronger than the electromagnetic force by about a factor of 100, hence it overcomes, in the near scale of the protons and neutrons, the repulsive force between protons and like charged quarks due to the electromagnetic force.
The residual binding energy, then, is what holds protons and neutrons together in the nuclei of atoms. It is somewhat less than binding energy, but it is still more than the electromagnetic force, at least up to a certain distance, so atoms up to lead (AN=82) tend to be stable, and atoms from bismuth (AN=83) and up tend to be unstable.
When we split (fission) heavy atoms, such as uranium, the sum of the nuclear force of the pieces remaining is less than the original nuclear force. Similarly, when we combine (fusion) light atoms, such as hydrogen, the nuclear force of the product is less than the sum of the nuclear force of the component pieces.
The difference in nuclear force is released as energy, in the form of gamma rays and other particles, effectively heat. Its not a large amount of excess energy on the atomic scale, but when you add up the massive number of fission or fusion events that occur, you get a substantial amount of excess energy.
Another way of looking at this is that the end result loses mass. That loss of mass can be compared to the excess energy with Einstein's famous mass-energy equivalence formula e = mc2.
Just to put that into perspective, one kilogram of anything, if completely converted to energy, would be 9 x 1016 joules, or about 21.5 megatons of TNT. The energy released by the bomb at Hiroshima was estimated to be about 13 to 18 kilotons of TNT, from the conversion of only 600 to 860 milligrams of uranium. On the other extreme, the fusion process in the Sun is estimated to convert about 4.26 million metric tons of hydrogen per second into energy, creating 3.846 x 1026 joules per second, or about 9.192 x 1010 megatons of TNT per second.
A tokamak is a type of magnetic confinement device used to create controlled nuclear fusion reactions. It uses magnetic fields to confine a hot plasma of hydrogen isotopes, forcing them to collide and fuse together, releasing energy in the process. The goal is to achieve sustained fusion reactions that could potentially provide a clean and abundant source of energy in the future.
Can you use tritium water as moderator in nuclear reactor?
Yes, tritium water can be used as a moderator in a nuclear reactor. However, tritium itself is a radioactive isotope of hydrogen, so careful handling and safety measures are required due to its potential health risks. Research is being conducted on the use of tritium in nuclear fusion reactors, but it is not commonly used as a moderator in fission reactors.
What is the reason for high frequency in dc motor?
High frequency in a DC motor can be caused by factors such as mechanical resonance, electrical noise, or incorrect control signal frequency. These can lead to instability and performance issues in the motor operation. It is important to identify and address the root cause to ensure smooth and efficient motor performance.
What substance is used in a nuclear reactor to absorb heat released from the reactor?
Coolant, such as water or a specific type of liquid metal, is used in a nuclear reactor to absorb the heat released during the nuclear fission process. The coolant carries away the heat and helps to regulate the temperature within the reactor to prevent overheating.
How would a fusion reactor differ from the nuclear reactors you currently have?
The nuclear reactors we have now are fission reactors. This means that they obtain their energy from nuclear reactions that split large nuclei such as uranium into smaller ones such as rubidium and cesium. There is a binding energy that holds a nucleus together. If the binding energy of the original large nucleus is greater than the sum of the binding energies of the smaller pieces, you get the difference in energy as heat that can be used in a power station to generate electricity.
A fusion reaction works the other way. It takes small nuclei like deuterium (heavy hydrogen) and fuses them together to make larger ones such as helium. If the binding energy of the two deuterium nuclei is greater than that of the final larger helium nucleus, it can be used to generate electricity.
There are two main differences between fission and fusion. The first is that the materials required for fission are rarer and more expensive to produce than those for fusion. For example, uranium has to be mined in special areas and then purified by difficult processes. By contrast, even though deuterium makes up only 0.02 percent of naturally occurring hydrogen, we have a vast supply of hydrogen in the water making up the oceans. The second difference is that the products of fission are radioactive and so need to be treated carefully, as they are dangerous to health. The products of fusion are not radioactive (although a realistic reactor will likely have some relatively small amount of radioactive product).
The problem with building fusion reactors is that a steady, controlled fusion reaction is very hard to achieve. It is still a subject of intense research. The main problem is that to achieve fusion we need to keep the nuclei we wish to fuse at extremely high temperatures and close enough for them to have a chance of fusing with one other. It is extremely difficult to find a way of holding everything together, since the nuclei naturally repel each other and the temperatures involved are high enough to melt any solid substance known. As technology improves, holding everything together will become easier, but it seems that we are a long way off from having commercial fusion reactors.
How do nuclear reactor produce energy by using fission reaction?
In a nuclear reactor, uranium atoms are bombarded with neutrons, causing them to split in a process called fission. This process releases a huge amount of heat energy, which is used to heat water and produce steam. The steam then drives turbines connected to generators, producing electricity.
When do a nuclear reactor become critical or subcritical?
Critical is that point when the population of fission events is neither growing nor decreasing, and that it is sustained by its own means. In this state, on a large scale statistical basis, exactly one neutron produces one fission, which goes one to produce one neutron, which goes on to produce one fission, and so on and so forth. Subcritical is the state where that population is decreasing, and supercritical is where that population is increasing.
Criticality is also related to power output, as the number of fission events is directly tied to energy or power output. When you ramp a nuclear reactor up in power, you go slightly supercritical while you increase the population, and therefore the energy output, but once you achieve your target power, you let your moderator step in and modulate the power in a self-modulating cycle. Similarly, as you trim power down, you go slightly subcritical while you decrease the population, and then you let the moderator kick back in, that is, unless you lose control and you initiate a trip/scram, taking the reactor to shutdown, which is way-way-subcritical.
What is composition of nuclear fuel rod?
A nuclear fuel rod typically consists of pellets made of uranium dioxide, which are stacked and encased in a zirconium alloy tube. The uranium in the pellets undergoes fission reactions in a controlled nuclear reactor to generate heat energy. Other materials such as control rods and cladding are also part of the overall design for safety and efficiency.
Which atomic reactor is used for studies of uranium heavy water lattice in India?
The CIRUS reactor in India is commonly used for studies involving uranium heavy water lattices. This reactor was used for research purposes before being permanently shut down in 2010.
Is it posssible to use palladium to make arc reactor?
While palladium is used in certain types of fuel cells, it is not typically used in constructing arc reactors as portrayed in popular fiction like Iron Man. The concept of an arc reactor is mainly a fictional device, and the materials and technologies involved in its construction do not exist in reality.
What fuel is used in fast breeder reactor?
Mainly Plutonium fuel.
They are usually started on highly enriched uranium (i.e., weapons grade) fuel, with a breeding blanket of depleted uranium surrounding the core. Over time the breeding blanket is periodically changed and the old one reprocessed to extract plutonium; which is used to make replacement fuel for the reactor (and sometimes others). So the reactor starts on uranium fuel and each time the fuel is replaced it transitions gradually to plutonium fuel.
It is also possible to tune a breeder reactor to operate as a plutonium burner (without breeding new fuel). Such a reactor would burn plutonium only. This has been suggested as an effective means of disposing of the current "excess" of plutonium removed from retired nuclear weapons.
Why is coolant used in nuclear power station?
Uranium, usually enriched in U-235, in the form of uranium oxide UO2.
most use yellowcake, a uranium oxide, powder in zirconium cans.
Some use uranium ceramics that can run hotter. Others use uranium metal.
In experimental reactors every imaginable form has been tried, including uranium salt solution and uranium/water slurry. In those the fuel was also the primary loop coolant.
Power stations derive electrical energy by extracting the energy from many different
sources. Here are some that we can think of right at the moment:
-- coal
-- oil
-- natural gas
-- sunshine
-- fissile substances, like enriched uranium and plutonium
-- wind
-- falling water
-- flowing water
Most use a uranium oxide called yellowcake (because it is yellow) sealed in zirconium cans to prevent fission product contamination of the coolant.
Some use metallic uranium.
Some use uranium and/or plutonium in ceramic pellets.
There are many other ways.
Uranium in the form uranium dioxide, UO2, enriched in U-235 to 4-5 percent, and made into rods 10mm dia encased in zircaloy
- Natural uranium in heavy water moderated reactors like the CANDU.
- 3% to 5% enriched uranium in water moderated reactors.
- 20% to 95% enriched uranium in unmoderated fast reactors like breeders.
What type of nuclei would most likely undergo fusion?
Hydrogen and oxygen. On the sun two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom are fused at the core which keeps the suns light going and giving it more energy. The result of this is water. H2( hydrogen 2 ) O( oxygen ) h2o
Which countries have nuclear fusion reactors?
So far, only one reactor has successfully produced more energy than was expended, and that one is in California. But 23 countries currently have experimental reactors: USA, Canada, China, Japan, Australia, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, South Korea, the European Union, the Czech Republic, Spain, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, Russia, Switzerland, UK, Ukraine, and Sweden.
What would you wear around nuclear reactors?
When working around nuclear reactors, it's important to wear appropriate protective clothing such as coveralls, gloves, and safety goggles to prevent exposure to radiation or hazardous materials. Specialized gear like dosimeters to measure radiation levels may also be necessary. Follow all safety protocols and guidelines provided by the facility.
Why do you use nuclear reactors?
Fission (atom splitting) nuclear reactors are used on ships, on land, and in space satellites, because they provide a lot of continuous energy for a very long time, from a small amount of material. A pound of fissionable material will last much long than tons of coal, or gallons of oil.
Except for a few minutes, Fusion (the joining of atoms) does not work unless in a star or an atomic bomb.
Do you currently use combustion to produce nuclear energy in nuclear reactors?
No. The heat from the reactor is used to boil water. The steam from said water is used to turn turbines which produces electricity.
No, there is no combustion in a nuclear reactor. Nuclear energy does not need combustion to start it, there is no chemical process involved. It works simply by a neutron chain reaction.
