Understanding Nuclear Reactors

Understanding Nuclear Reactors provides a non-mathematical understanding of how nuclear reactors operate. It describes the components, the Pressure Vessel, the Pressuriser to control the pressure in a Pressurised Water Reactor (PWR), and the Steam Generator and it also explains how the chain reaction is controlled in the day-to-day operations in the Control Room. What goes on elsewhere in the nuclear fuel cycle, mining, enrichment, fuel manufacturer, spent fuel management, and reprocessing are also covered in detail. The book tells a set of historical stories about the development of the physics behind reactors and the discovery of fission and explains the hopes for the development of Generation IV reactors. Special attention is given to the safety of reactors and the lessons to be learned from the incidents at Three Mile Island, Browns Ferry, Chernobyl, and Fukushima. Hooton uses a set of stories to explain the invisible hazard of radiation on the human body. Global warming was the mo