Nuclear reactor | Definition, History, & Components | Britannica
Dec 24, 2024 · nuclear reactor, any of a class of devices that can initiate and control a self-sustaining series of nuclear fissions. Nuclear reactors are used as research tools, as systems for producing radioactive isotope s, and most prominently …
Nuclear reactor - Fission, Fusion, Power | Britannica
Dec 24, 2024 · Nuclear reactor - Fission, Fusion, Power: Since the inception of nuclear power on an industrial scale in the mid-20th century, fundamental reactor designs have progressed so as to maximize efficiency and safety on the basis of lessons learned from previous designs.
Nuclear power | Definition, Issues, & Facts | Britannica
5 days ago · nuclear 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 ...
Leo Szilard | Nuclear Reactor, Patent Holder & Scientist | Britannica
Leo Szilard was a Hungarian-born American physicist who helped conduct the first sustained nuclear chain reaction and was instrumental in initiating the Manhattan Project for the development of the atomic bomb.
Nuclear energy | Definition, Sources, Uses, & Facts | Britannica
One method of releasing nuclear energy is by controlled nuclear fission in devices called reactors, which now operate in many parts of the world for the production of electricity. Another method for obtaining nuclear energy, controlled nuclear fusion, holds promise but has not been perfected by 2020. Nuclear energy has been released explosively ...
Nuclear fusion - Research, Energy, History | Britannica
Dec 19, 2024 · Nuclear fusion - Research, Energy, History: The fusion process has been studied in order to understand nuclear matter and forces, to learn more about the nuclear physics of stellar objects, and to develop thermonuclear weapons.
Enrico Fermi | Education, Discoveries, Biography, & Facts - Britannica
Jan 2, 2025 · Enrico Fermi, Italian-born American scientist who was one of the chief architects of the nuclear age. He developed the mathematical statistics for a large class of subatomic phenomena, explored nuclear transformations caused by neutrons, and directed the first controlled chain reaction involving nuclear fission.
Nuclear weapon | History, Facts, Types, Countries, Blast Radius ...
Dec 26, 2024 · A nuclear weapon is a device designed to release energy in an explosive manner as a result of nuclear fission, nuclear fusion, or a combination of the two processes. Are there treaties to control the proliferation of nuclear weapons?
Nuclear engineering | Power, Safety & Research | Britannica
A growing understanding of nuclear physics within the reactor and of radiation transport within and outside the reactor led to the birth of a new engineering discipline, nuclear engineering, that supplemented the traditional (and necessary) engineering disciplines needed to design, analyze, build, and operate a nuclear reactor plant.
Nuclear engineering - Reactor Design, Radiation Protection, Fusion ...
Nuclear engineering - Reactor Design, Radiation Protection, Fusion: The greatest growth in the nuclear industry has been in the development of nuclear power plants. Today more than 400 nuclear reactors generate electricity around the world.