How does a nuclear power plant work?
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It depends a bit on the fuel and exact reactor design, but the basics are:
* Rods of refined fissile material (usually Uranium) in a fluid medium are allowed to get close enough to each other that the radiation they naturally emit begins a sustained fission reaction. An atom splits (fissions) and fires off extra neutrons and sometimes protons, as well as releasing a fair bit of extra energy. The particles it fires off when it splits hit additional atoms and split those, in a chain reaction.
* Control rods of some neutron-absorbent material are interspersed with the reactor rods to absorb some of the excess neutrons. Rods can be added or removed to control the speed of the fission reaction, so that it can be sustained without getting out of control and making the reactor too hot.
* The energy released by the reaction heats the core. Outside the core is another layer of fluid that absorbs the reaction heat. This fluid is heated enough that the pressure can be used to drive a turbine (usually as steam). The turbine produces electrical power. It’s important to note that the fluid turning the turbine typically has no direct contact with the radioactive material in the core.
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