They contain and control nuclear chain reactions that produce heat through a physical process called fission. That heat is used to make steam that spins a turbine to create electricity. Show
With more than 440 commercial reactors worldwide, including 92 in the United States, nuclear power continues to be one of the largest sources of reliable carbon-free electricity available. Nuclear Fission Creates HeatThe main job of a reactor is to house and control nuclear fission—a process where atoms split and release energy. Fission and Fusion: What is the Difference?
Reactors use uranium for nuclear fuel. The uranium is processed into small ceramic pellets and stacked together into sealed metal tubes called fuel rods. Typically, more than 200 of these rods are bundled together to form a fuel assembly. A reactor core is typically made up of a couple hundred assemblies, depending on power level. Inside the reactor vessel, the fuel rods are immersed in water which acts as both a coolant and moderator. The moderator helps slow down the neutrons produced by fission to sustain the chain reaction. Control rods can then be inserted into the reactor core to reduce the reaction rate or withdrawn to increase it. The heat created by fission turns the water into steam, which spins a turbine to produce carbon-free electricity. Types of Light-water Reactors in the United StatesAll commercial nuclear reactors in the United States are light-water reactors. This means they use normal water as both a coolant and neutron moderator. There are two types of light-water reactors operating in America. Pressurized water reactors Graphic by Sarah Harman | U.S. Department of Energy More than 65% of the commercial reactors in the United States are pressurized-water reactors or PWRs. These reactors pump water into the reactor core under high pressure to prevent the water from boiling. The water in the core is heated by nuclear fission and then pumped into tubes inside a heat exchanger. Those tubes heat a separate water source to create steam. The steam then turns an electric generator to produce electricity. The core water cycles back to the reactor to be reheated and the process is repeated. Boiling Water ReactorsGraphic by Sarah Harman | U.S. Department of Energy Roughly a third of the reactors operating in the United States are boiling water reactors (BWRs). BWRs heat water and produce steam directly inside the reactor vessel. Water is pumped up through the reactor core and heated by fission. Pipes then feed the steam directly to a turbine to produce electricity. The term nuclear power refers to the source of this energy--the nucleus of atoms! Here's how it works. Inside a nuclear power plant is a nuclear reactor where heavy elements, like plutonium or uranium, fuel nuclear fission reactions. These elements are contained in fuel rods. The fuel rods, where the fission chain reactions occur, create enormous amounts of heat energy. They are submerged in a vat of cold coolant, usually water, which is then heated. The heated coolant moves through a pipe into a steam generator. There, the heat energy carried by the coolant turns water to steam. Together, the reactor, steam generator, and all of their connecting pipes are known as the primary system. The steam moves through a pipe to a turbine, which is the start of the secondary system. The energy from the steam causes the turbine to spin, creating kinetic energy. The turbine is connected to a generator, which turns kinetic energy from the turbine into electricity! The electricity then moves into a transformer that readies it for transmission to places where people can use it. Cold water from a nearby water source is circulated in a pipe that runs through a condenser under the turbine. The steam condenses back into water and returns to the primary system to be heated once again. The water in the condenser pipe that absorbs the heat from the steam moves into a cooling tower, where it is cooled and released back into the environment. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. Select Citation Style Share Share Share to social media Facebook Twitter URL https://www.britannica.com/technology/nuclear-powerGive Feedback External Websites Feedback Corrections? Updates? Omissions? Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). Feedback Type Your Feedback Submit FeedbackThank you for your feedback Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. External Websites
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By William Martin Edit History Table of Contentsnuclear power plant diagram See all media Key People:Vikram Sarabhai...(Show more)Related Topics:nuclear reactor energy conversion antinuclear movement nuclear energy nuclear power plant...(Show more) See all related content → Summary Read a brief summary of this topicnuclear power, electricity generated by power plants that derive their heat from fission in a nuclear reactor. Except for the reactor, which plays the role of a boiler in a fossil-fuel power plant, a nuclear power plant is similar to a large coal-fired power plant, with pumps, valves, steam generators, turbines, electric generators, condensers, and associated equipment. World nuclear powerNuclear power provides almost 15 percent of the world’s electricity. The first nuclear power plants, which were small demonstration facilities, were built in the 1960s. These prototypes provided “proof-of-concept” and laid the groundwork for the development of the higher-power reactors that followed. The nuclear power industry went through a period of remarkable growth until about 1990, when the portion of electricity generated by nuclear power reached a high of 17 percent. That percentage remained stable through the 1990s and began to decline slowly around the turn of the 21st century, primarily because of the fact that total electricity generation grew faster than electricity from nuclear power while other sources of energy (particularly coal and natural gas) were able to grow more quickly to meet the rising demand. This trend appears likely to continue well into the 21st century. The Energy Information Administration (EIA), a statistical arm of the U.S. Department of Energy, has projected that world electricity generation between 2005 and 2035 will roughly double (from more than 15,000 terawatt-hours to 35,000 terawatt-hours) and that generation from all energy sources except petroleum will continue to grow. In 2012 more than 400 nuclear reactors were in operation in 30 countries around the world, and more than 60 were under construction. The United States has the largest nuclear power industry, with more than 100 reactors; it is followed by France, which has more than 50. Of the top 15 electricity-producing countries in the world, all but two, Italy and Australia, utilize nuclear power to generate some of their electricity. The overwhelming majority of nuclear reactor generating capacity is concentrated in North America, Europe, and Asia. The early period of the nuclear power industry was dominated by North America (the United States and Canada), but in the 1980s that lead was overtaken by Europe. The EIA projects that Asia will have the largest nuclear capacity by 2035, mainly because of an ambitious building program in China. A typical nuclear power plant has a generating capacity of approximately one gigawatt (GW; one billion watts) of electricity. At this capacity, a power plant that operates about 90 percent of the time (the U.S. industry average) will generate about eight terawatt-hours of electricity per year. The predominant types of power reactors are pressurized water reactors (PWRs) and boiling water reactors (BWRs), both of which are categorized as light water reactors (LWRs) because they use ordinary (light) water as a moderator and coolant. LWRs make up more than 80 percent of the world’s nuclear reactors, and more than three-quarters of the LWRs are PWRs. Issues affecting nuclear powerCountries may have a number of motives for deploying nuclear power plants, including a lack of indigenous energy resources, a desire for energy independence, and a goal to limit greenhouse gas emissions by using a carbon-free source of electricity. The benefits of applying nuclear power to these needs are substantial, but they are tempered by a number of issues that need to be considered, including the safety of nuclear reactors, their cost, the disposal of radioactive waste, and a potential for the nuclear fuel cycle to be diverted to the development of nuclear weapons. All of these concerns are discussed below. Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. Subscribe Now SafetyThe safety of nuclear reactors has become paramount since the Fukushima accident of 2011. The lessons learned from that disaster included the need to (1) adopt risk-informed regulation, (2) strengthen management systems so that decisions made in the event of a severe accident are based on safety and not cost or political repercussions, (3) periodically assess new information on risks posed by natural hazards such as earthquakes and associated tsunamis, and (4) take steps to mitigate the possible consequences of a station blackout. The four reactors involved in the Fukushima accident were first-generation BWRs designed in the 1960s. Newer Generation III designs, on the other hand, incorporate improved safety systems and rely more on so-called passive safety designs (i.e., directing cooling water by gravity rather than moving it by pumps) in order to keep the plants safe in the event of a severe accident or station blackout. For instance, in the Westinghouse AP1000 design, residual heat would be removed from the reactor by water circulating under the influence of gravity from reservoirs located inside the reactor’s containment structure. Active and passive safety systems are incorporated into the European Pressurized Water Reactor (EPR) as well. Traditionally, enhanced safety systems have resulted in higher construction costs, but passive safety designs, by requiring the installation of far fewer pumps, valves, and associated piping, may actually yield a cost saving. What is a nuclear power plant in simple terms?A nuclear power plant is a facility that converts atomic energy into usable power. In a nuclear electric power plant, heat produced by a reactor is generally used to drive a turbine which in turn drives an electric generator.
What is the purpose of a nuclear power plant?Nuclear power plants use the heat generated from nuclear fission in a contained environment to convert water to steam, which powers generators to produce electricity.
What is a nuclear power plant and how does it work?Nuclear power plants heat water to produce steam. The steam is used to spin large turbines that generate electricity. Nuclear power plants use heat produced during nuclear fission to heat water. In nuclear fission, atoms are split apart to form smaller atoms, releasing energy.
What is the difference between a power plant and a nuclear power plant?Conclusion. The most notable difference between a Thermal Power Plant and a Nuclear Power Plant is that a thermal power plant uses coal to produce heat energy, whereas a nuclear power plant uses nuclear fission of heavy elements to produce required heat energy.
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What is a nuclear power plant
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