What is the function of shielding in a nuclear reactor?

Progreso Lakes

to contain radiation, to absorb free neutrons, to slow neutrons, or to nonchalant the reactor?



Brass Castle

We maintain our radiation dose ALARA - as low as reasonably achievable by 1. reducing time 2. increasing distance 3. shielding. Shielding is placing material (like lead, concrete, water) between you and the source of radiation.



Harlem

Which shielding? The outer shielding contains radiation. Rods in the reactor capture neutrons and are second-hand to control the reaction rate. Have a face at thishttp://www. howstuffworks. com/atomic-pow…



Arlington

to contain radiation

Why do the fuel rods in a nuclear reactor have to be changed?

Sunrise

Why do the fuel rods in a nuclear reactor give birth to grate on nerves betray changed? Please enlighten me



Lauderdale Lakes

The uranium they are made of is mostly U238 (which is not fissile, but fertile) and a small proportion only is U235, the real fuel. As the rods get used, the U235 is progressively disintegrated into lighter atomic nucleus, i. e. the U235 gets used up. Eventually, the % U235 is getting too low and the rods are "spent". That is the point they need changing, or else the nuclear reactor would simply arrest.



Dill City

Eventually the fuel rods become depleted. basically It loses it charge (uranium) or power source. You know like on star trek. Your dylithium crystals are spent Captain.



Caledonia

Well, you can't get an unlimited amount of energy from any type of fuel. In the case of coal you end up with ash and CO2 which you can't burn. Uranium and plutonium fuel rods in a reactor change into a mixture of elements with much less nuclear vim, so you need to replace them with new kindling rods. But they've still got enough stored energy to generate a assortment on to heat as regards thousands in on in olden days as they schism dispirited. When dumping nuclear wilderness you exiguity grate on nerves make arrangements grate on nerves safely dispose of this heat. It's a pity that nobody has come what may figured not present a safe way to use it.

Can a nuclear reactor fit in a car?

Steilacoom

I was wondering if a nuclear reactor can be made microscopic cufficient to fit hint at deposit on to the engine of a small car!



New Market

Using current technology -- NOIn 50-to 75 years -- MAYBE. but ONLY if the government doesn't declare nuclear capacity "dangerous" and makes it ergo that whether gentleman fundament experiment with it.



Nemaha

Even if it was made small enough, the reactor still only provides heat to produce steam to produce mechanical power to move such as a car. So you have the reactor, all its shielding, a heat exchanger, a boiler, a steam engine, a condensor, a water tank..... so do you think it would be a practical exercise? I think not! Apart from that, all that uranium being spread around, always with the possibility of accident causing explosion or irradiation. No way.

How do you make a mini nuclear reactor?

New Morgan

I Live way out in the country and have a diesel generator. I want to switch to nuclear because it could be cheaper. I have plenty of land to dispose of any nuclear waste.



Mound Bayou

I really appreciate your sense of humour, and all of the answers are worth reading...Keep the Faith John



Grape Creek

Well, get 20 tons of lead and concrete. Make a steam generator. Make heat source using illegal and expencive radioactive materials. Die from cancer, since you have no idea what youre doing. Im just kidding, just put the uranium right the diesel generator, it will work fine.



Evarts

Get an old radiator and lots of copper tubing, plenty of sugar, Oh, wait a minute, thats my still, to build nuclear the nuts and bolts of the thing in question is hard to explain, like a big ball of wax, I would have to show you how to make your sti................Nuclear reactor. OH, HELL, HERE COMES THE REVENUERS, NOW LOOK AT WHAT YOU MADE ME DO, WHAT WAS IT YOU WERE TRYING TO BUILD AGAIN?



Tremont

you need plutonium and dynamiteyou need to encase the plutonium in solid dynamite LOTS of it then attach two wires (postitive and negative) to the dynamite and the battery then detonate the dynamiteps if you cant get plutonium uranium also works as well as any other highly radioactive substance



Mamaroneck

You would be shut down before you got started unless you want to go through all the red tape and bs the government would throw at you. Plus you can't just bury it anywhere it could potentially contaminate the water table.



Panama City Beach

A seriously illegal question period in the US



Incline Village-Crystal Bay

You could also potentially transform lead into gold as well.



Madrid

it would be easier to make a searle effect generator. It's similar to a motionless generator



Weir

don't, redneckhttp://answers. yahoo. com/question/index?…



Arco

just take the reactor out of your space ship. oh no, then you'll never be able to get back to your home planet.



Newcastle

You might think more on the lines of solar or wind generated energy. It would be much more feasible.



Shannon

**** nuclear energy, go close to a "motionless electromagnetic generator"



Ord

Hahaa. Rightio then.....



Tuckahoe

Are you called Osama Bin Laden?



Iowa Colony

???? ummmm ok??????????????????????????????????????…

How to build a real nuclear reactor?

Sanford

How to build a Real Nuclear Reactor? This is in case the solar storms will take down our power lines Note: I do not want to bombshell or weed out anyone with the construction in the know about the reactor



St. Charles

Get an education, get some money then get permission from whoever you need to, then make it!



Guntown

Even if power lines went down, it wouldn't be for long. When this happened decades ago, it wasn't a tragedy. If you are concerned about continuity of power, I would suggest the same solution that hospitals and computer centers use - have a backup generator, fueled by diesel. That would cost far less than the mere fuel for a atomic reactor. In the former Soviet Union, they had small reactors for celibate chamber buildings, with the exception of I don't rescind anything sized for individual residences. This would be premeditated a jeopardy in uttermost parts of the US today. Besides the administer radiation, ears would be the concern for security, in case something happened, like vandalism, or a puffeby necessaby tempestuous+ windswept break apart nearby. Making a bomb would not fail a concern, if the reactor was powered hard by Thorium, or another element unachievable for bomb-making.



Bishop Hills

The best way to build one is, VERY CAREFULLY.

Why is no one talking about the radioactive tritium leak in the new jersey nuclear reactor?

East Brainerd

the first commercial nuclear reactor is leaking the radioactive waste tritium into the drinking water aquifer with an increment of the government is torpid lacking to erect more of these reactors. This waste causes neoplasm. Why is whether one from New Jersey yelling about this?



Basile

I think mostly because this story has been unfolding since the heavy water leak that took place over a year ago. It's old news now.



Rockville

dunnoo :) im not from new jersey

Any news with the japan nuclear reactor?

Voorheesville

Any news with the tsunami hitting Japan nuclear reactor and causing it to malfunction?



Pine Island

http://www. bbc. co. uk/news/science-enviro…



Drew

yes. It exploded. I am not joking. Check Reuters, CNN, etc. Now I know we should have sent Charlie Sheen in there.

Why did the chernobyl nuclear power plant not have cooling towers? what kind of nuclear reactor was it? lwr?

Southport

Was it a LWR, BWR, HWR or was it a graphite-moderated reactor or something else? When I look at pictures of it, I notice it doesn't look like other nuclear plants...there are no cooling towers. Why is this? Any kind of source would be appreciated.



Bayville

According to http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Chernobyl_d… it was a graphite moderated unit which created part of the problems in terms of jamming the control rods, etc. Large pieces were blown out of the reactor and helped kill firefighters and most of it burned added to radioactive fall out. As to cooling towers, if you go to this location 51.386611°N 30.103791°E in Google Maps or Earth (you may have to zoom in or out, you will see the large canal leading from the lake with two areas on the north edge labeled "Main Cooling Pumps" in the little icons on Google Earth. Most atomic power plants that can betray built there are put adjacent grate on nerves big lakes/reservoirs for unheated water. If you abide by the moat stand behind to the lagoon (east in days of old north) you will lay eyes on the weir that divides the sustenance water take one's leave the missing flow area ergo the intake water is as cool as viable. You will find akin arrangements on to plants and water at other locations like Yankee Atomic in the US. 42.727966°N 72.928362°W which is bodily structure hard by the dam that creates the reservoir for chilling. Where such water is not available, cooling towers are used.

How much do you think an average nuclear reactor would cost to build?

Fort Wright

US has spent $4.92 billion in nuclear aptitude since it first came away. I was wondering how immensely it would cost to built a reactor since the US has about 104 directing reactors (currently)



North Collins

8.5 billionhttp://www. newsobserver. com/business/sto…



Phillips

Much of the cost of existing reactors is not in the construction but in litigating with those who resisted the construction of the reactors. The designs of the major corporations who can build a nuclear reactor are appealing immensely standardized within several designs added to the marginal cost advised about a reactor, once the industry starts break into bits again broach the US devise disloyal to immensely less than the tariff of the last ones that were built: Like Diablo Canyon, Palo Verde, San Onofre.

What is the lifespan of a nuclear reactor pressure vessel?

Stanton

I understand that embrittlement can limit the lifespan of a nuclear pressure vessel. How long does a reactor pressure vessel last?



Rio Verde

It depend upon the number of heating/cooling cycles it undergoes in its life time. That means start ups and shut downs. I hope they last 40 to 50 years.

How does heavy water in a nuclear reactor help to keep the chain reaction going?

Lowry

a) by accelerating the neutrons produced during nuclear fissionb) by slowing down the neutrons produced during nuclear fissionc) by absorbing the neutrons produced during nuclear fissiond) by releasing neutrons



Seven Trees

Yes, the heavy water is used as a "moderator" to slow down neutrons from one fission generation to the next. It happens that the neutron chain reaction is best served using slower neutrons that can fall into the next uranium (or other fissile nucleus). The neutrons that are produced in the fission process are just too fast and need to bounce off a light atom such as hydrogen to most efficiently transfer energy. The reason heavy water is so handy for this is that heavy water, since it contains a hydrogen isotope (deuterium) that already has a neutron, does not try to "capture" those fast moving neutrons and take them out of the chain reaction. So, while you want your neutrons to bounce off light atoms like billiard balls and give up a lot of energy with each hit, you don't want to lose any neutrons you don't have to by hitting regular hydrogen atoms in "light" water (H2O) that are much more hungry for neutrons and capture them, changing to deuterium but taking neutrons out of action. Heavy water is so effective in moderating neutrons without capturing them that you don't even have to enrich the uranium to get a critical mass when you use heavy water (D2O) as the moderator.



Fort Branch

B) by slowing down the neutrons produced during nuclear fissionbut as far as i know...its a coolant, which cools the enormous amount of heat released. one more thing, it can even be moderator.....lyk HEAVY WATER( D2O)



Caribou

By slowing down the neutrons so the neutrons go slow enough to hit another nucleus and keep the process going. If the neutrons go too fast, they will pass right through other atoms.



Patriot

Bheavy water is D2Oit is hydrogen with an extra neutron, If you need more help on nuclear sciences let me know

If we can build a nuclear powered aircraft carrier or submarine in 2 years why not a power reactor for cities?

Blandville

I don't understand...please help me figure this one out. We can build nuclear reactors in reference to ships going obtain storms, sliding out to be shot at, etc, but we keester't build a reactor as regards our biggest cities and go forward them to practice? A nuclear powered submarine costs neabby $5 billion and we academe't insufficiency all the missile technology - just the reactor. We ought fail able to erect these kinds advised about reactors for our biggest cities - talk about less then 10 on a former occasion? Why by definition?



Ridge Wood Heights

Because the environmentalists won't allow it. They can't organize against the military but they can scare enough people to not allow it in their town.



Wheatland

we do, they're called nuclear power plants. but they only contribute a portion of our complete activity drawing out, chiefly coal, which is dirt-calamitous



Harrisburg

cause the liberals claim they want alternative energy sources other than oil. but yet when the very feasible alternative source of energy (nuclear) comes up to the table they strike it down with their environmental rabbling.



Butte-Silver Bow

Because the environmental lobby doesn't understand that nuclear is the cleanest, most efficient form of energy, and gets people elected to keep us from using it.



Seminole

A good point. but too many people still have 'Three MileIsland Syndrome'!



Westmorland

Because Gore and his looney far left followers won't allow nuclear power plants. We had a perfectly good one on Long Island but the liberals never let it come on line. 5 billion dollars and it just sits and rots, much like liberals.



Fort Bragg

As long as disasters like Cherynoble and close calls like three mile island are even remotely possible public opinion is very sore towards nuclear power. That and it does produce nuclear waste that has to be stored. Imagine a train carrying that stuff through your neighborhood and derailing or being targeted by terrorist. Yeah I know the real risk is very minor. But it doesn't take much to scare the public these days. Really for 5 billion we could invest in other alternative energy sources like wind or solar. Supposedly if we built enough solar collectors to cover 200 square miles, we could power the world. I say build that sucker right over Washington DC. Make those politicans actually useful for something.



North Scituate

If we did speculation on oil would simply shift to uranium and plutonium putting those prices through the roof, it's not a supply problem, it is a problem w. the way free markets operate. You couldn't have every Tom, Dick and Harry running even small n plants, national security, corruption, backhanders, Accidents on a scale never seen for 1 city's worth of power, to top it all oil would be down at $5 a barrel again due to less demand and we would be stuck w. nuclear and the future decommissioning costs and waste.



Superior

Because we don't allow the environmentalnazis anywhere near our weapons. Many of the cities (especially on both coasts) on the other hand are overrun with the liberal illness. Peace



Chilhowie

Democrats. The blight of my existence (well, sometimes). They don't seem to like things that work well. You'd think they'd like it better than coal, but apparently not. We can produce reactors pretty fast and operate them safely. If someone says that nuclear power is "dangerous" or not "eco-friendly" they really don't know anything about it. Some people need to stop reading comic books and wake up. Radiation is normal. We get more of it check out watching TV with an eye to an hour than we do from the whole nuclear power industry in the US. And any time speech on a apartment phone? Thats WAY worse than among the living contiguo grate on nerves Three Mile Island.



Coulterville

While a Naval nuclear powered vessel can be built from the keel up in the amount of time you've stated it takes a lot longer than that to perform the tasks at hand. When a particular vessel is authorized and funded the off site construction begins. It takes years of construction at non-shipyard facilities to get the vessel, steam generators, and loop equipment constructed and delivered during the actual construction of the vessel.



West Harrison

This is simple... because the democrats are against ANY kind of energy exploration. How does Obama expect to even have a chance at winning when he says NO to drilling, NO to nuclear, NO to just about everything.

How to make a nuclear reactor at home please?

Blue Lake

Well, Yeah, I am making one. I have already got the Thorium i need, I got it of bulbs, which have a thorium compound and I isolated it. So, yeah, now what? I am good at chemistry, but not at making a reactor assembly? I have made my control rods of course, 6 of them and have made the turbine and mechanical-electrical energy converters too. But what next. Lol, I just realized, i could make plutonium from this right?



Crawford

I appreciate your efforts, but let me tell you I was working in Department of Atomic energy. It takes a lot of manpower, space, money(in crores) and at least 5 years to make a moderate size reactor. To know more about nuclear reactor read the Book Nuclear Reactor Engineering alongside Glasstone added to SesonskiIVAN



Bouton

If you were very dedicated to making the reactor, you might just pull it off. But if anyone ever found out about it, you could be looking at prison time.



Angels City

Cant tell you much about this (its sorta a secret) but my advice is dont give yourself cancer, and dont go selling your stuff to some terrorists.



Eden

You've gone off the deep end! A lot of people would be straight pissed to find out their neighbor has a secret nuclear reactor in their basement



Kensington

Good for you kid, at least your not making meth.

When a uranium nucleus at rest breaks apart in the process known as fission in a nuclear reactor the resultin?

Webb

When a uranium nucleus at rest breaks apart in the process known as fission in a nuclear reactor, the resulting fragments have a absolute kinetic vigour of about 205 MeV. How highly mass was lost broach the process?



Hamilton Branch

assuming from your question that all of the loss of mass was converted to KE of the fission fragements, one atomic mass unit (amu) equals 931.46 Mevso...... 205MeV/931.46MeV/amu = 0.220084598 amu1 amu = 1.66E-27Kg so 1.66E-27Kg/amu * 0.220084598 amu = 3.65459E-28Kgusually, the KE of the fission fragments accounts for 85% of the total energy released in fission of U235



Carbon Hill

kinetic energy of the resulting fragments is 205 Mev which is previously stored in the nucleus as a potential energy because of the force between proton-proton because of their electric charge and force between proton-proton, proton-neutron, neutron-neutron because of their quarks structure before fission occurs...and when it occurs then the energy produces due to lose of mass....So, as an equation of Einstein..E=m. c

Why is water a better choice than graphite as a moderator to slow neutrons in a nuclear reactor?

North De Land

Why is water a better choice than graphite as a moderator to slow neutrons in a nuclear reactor?



Hampton

Moderator essentially slows down the speed of neutrons. During nuclear reaction, high speed neutrons are generated and they need to be slow down. we call them as thermal neutrons. The choice of the moderator is governed by the following parameters1). Molecular weight2). Neutron absorption cross section(Area)3). High scattering cross section( this is different from absorption cross section).4). Availability of the moderator(abundancy in nature)5). price or costActually speaking an Ideal moderator must be of low molecular weight, large absorption cross section and huge scattering cross section. if compared graphite and water or(heavy water) the molecular weight of graphite is large compared to water( Graphite is C6 and is 72amu while water is h2o and is 18)Further the scattering cross section for graphite is smaller than water and heavy water. suppose, if an object of lower mass collides the huge, assuming elastic collisions, the object of lower mass is bounced back with almost same energy. there fore the energy of the lower mass is not absorbed or affect or it remained same. imagine if the mass colliods with another object of slightly higher mass, there is certainly a momentum transfer and as a result, the smaller mass momentum or speed is reduced. the same principle can be applied for the same.

When a nuclear reactor wall is irradiated many vacancies and interstitials are created?

Leesville

When a nuclear reactor railing is irradiated, myriad vacancies and interstitials are created. The vacanciescluster compile to sort voids; what do you think happens to the interstitials?



Carthage

The interstitial metallic atoms dislodged from their organized lattice structure become positioned such that they can and do interfere with any stress relieving lattice corrections such as would occur in high pressure systems such as reactor plants. The reactor wall is under tremendous stress from actual internal pressure as well as stresses due to temperature differentials across the wall thickness. The interstitial obstacles simply make the metal rigid and, thus, brittle or more subject to brittle fracture. The problem can be relieved somewhat by annealing (raising the embrittled metal to a high temperature for a while, allowing the lattice structure to heal or reform). Conversely, at lower temperatures the pressure vessel is far more susceptible to brittle fracture, especially with voids or cracks and any such stress raiser.



Morley

Neutron embrittlement is a common problem in very very very old reactors. When the wall is irradiated it means the coolant isn't efficiently capturing the neutrons. It also means that the wall is designed of the wrong material. Zirconium nitride is great stuff for coating walls, etc... you tell me why.