Nuclear Reactor - Fusion Plant

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A nuclear reactor is a device used to initiate and control a fission nuclear chain reaction. They are used for commercial electricity, marine propulsion, weapons production and research. When a fissile nucleus, usually uranium-235 or plutonium-239, absorbs a neutron, it splits into lighter nuclei, releasing energy, gamma radiation, and free neutrons, which can induce further fission in a self-sustaining chain reaction. Reactors stabilize this with systems of active and passive control, varying the presence of neutron absorbers and moderators in the core, maintaining criticality with delayed neutrons. Fuel efficiency is exceptionally high;low-enriched uranium has an energy density 120,000 times higher than coal.

Following the discovery of nuclear fission in 1938, many countries initiated military nuclear research programs. Early subcritical atomic piles sought to allow research on fission and neutronics. The American Manhattan Project made the vast majority of early breakthroughs. In 1942, the first artificialnote critical nuclear reactor, Chicago Pile-1, was built at the University of Chicago, by a team led by Enrico Fermi. From 1944, with the goal of weapons-grade plutonium production for fission bombs, the first large-scale reactors were operated at the American Hanford Site. The pressurized water reactor design, used in over 70% of current commercial reactors, was developed by the US Navy for submarine propulsion, beginning with the S1W in 1953. In 1954, nuclear grid electricity production began with the Soviet Obninsk AM-1 reactor.