How do control rods in nuclear reactors work?
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Here’s how a nuclear reaction works, in simple terms.
An atom is made up of smaller particles. Some of these particles are stuck together in what’s called the nucleus. It’s possible to hit them with other particles, causing them to break apart and fly everywhere. Then, as they fly around, they might hit other nuclei, causing them to break apart and go on to hit more and more nuclei. (“Nuclei” is the plural form of “nucleus”.)
It’s like bowling pins, if you push the ones in the front, as they fall they knock the others down too. Or like dominoes, as the first one falls, it hits the domino after it, which causes more and more to fall.
Here’s where control rods come in. They absorb the particles, so then they can’t hit more nuclei and break them apart. It’s like if you put something between the dominoes, it will stop the ones after it from being knocked over.
If you have enough control rods, you can stop the reaction altogether, or if you have only a few, it will slow things down.
As for why we want nuclei to break apart in the first place, it’s because when they break apart, they produce lots of energy.
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