Plus if these plants are next to a body of water why would they need to cool down their water if they can use the water form that source?
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[https://nuclear.duke-energy.com/2013/11/13/why-don-t-all-nuclear-plants-have-cooling-towers](https://nuclear.duke-energy.com/2013/11/13/why-don-t-all-nuclear-plants-have-cooling-towers)
[https://www.power-eng.com/om/understanding-the-basics-of-cooling-tower-heat-transfer/#gref](https://www.power-eng.com/om/understanding-the-basics-of-cooling-tower-heat-transfer/#gref)
Basically, the towers have air inlets at the bottom, and spray the hot water from the turbines out in really small droplets from near the top of the tower. Cool air comes in through the inlets, and draws heat from the water droplets as they fall. That then heats the air and it rises (taking some water content with it, hence the steam plumes you see from the towers). This creates low pressure toward the bottom of the tower, drawing in more cool air from outside. By the time the water reaches the bottom, it’s cooled down enough to be returned to the environment without disrupting the ecosystems too much.
The reactor gets hot, they need water to cool down the reactor, but use the heat from the water cooling down the reactor to create steam, using that steam to spin generators, creating electricity. They need constant cool water (which they get from lakes and oceans) to cool down the reactor so the water doesn’t getting too hot.
Imagine cooking in a pressure cooker. You need heat, but you also don’t want it to get too hot that it might explode. (side note: reactors such as in the US can’t explode like Chernobyl, but that’s another different type of science)
The water circulates from the engine to the radiator, a system of fans and tubes with a lot of exterior surface area. Heat moves from the hot water to the radiator, causing the water to cool off. The cool water then heads back to the engine. At the same time, a fan moves air over the outside of the radiator. The radiator warms the air, cooling itself off at the same time. In this way, the engine’s heat moves out of the cooling system and into the surrounding air. Without the radiator’s surfaces contacting the air and dispelling the heat, the system would just move the heat around instead of getting rid of it.
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