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	<title>Comments on: Nuclear Power: The Reactor</title>
	<atom:link href="http://dearscience.org/2008/06/02/nuclear-power-the-reactor/feed/" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" />
	<link>http://dearscience.org/2008/06/02/nuclear-power-the-reactor/</link>
	<description>Seattle's Only Scientist</description>
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		<title>By: fastdude</title>
		<link>http://dearscience.org/2008/06/02/nuclear-power-the-reactor/comment-page-1/#comment-302</link>
		<dc:creator>fastdude</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Wed, 20 Aug 2008 11:59:45 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://dearscience.org/?p=89#comment-302</guid>
		<description>no mention of neutron reflectors in this article.
also natural water contains a mix of heavy and light, it is not ALL light.</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>no mention of neutron reflectors in this article.<br />
also natural water contains a mix of heavy and light, it is not ALL light.</p>
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		<title>By: Paul</title>
		<link>http://dearscience.org/2008/06/02/nuclear-power-the-reactor/comment-page-1/#comment-192</link>
		<dc:creator>Paul</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Sat, 21 Jun 2008 16:24:50 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://dearscience.org/?p=89#comment-192</guid>
		<description>Your last paragraph here is a little misleading.  Yes, pressurized water reactors in the US use enriched uranium as the fuel.  However that enrichment is only between 3% and 5% (natural U-238 has an enrichment of approximately 0.7%).  The physical size of the reactor core acts as a moderator as the neutrons have such a distance to travel that the neutrons hit the moderator many more times than in a smaller reactor.

There are reactor designs that use highly enriched uranium but these are not used for commercial power.  They are used when very compact reactors are needed (or when getting heavy water to replenish water supply is impossible to get).

Also, due to reactor design it is not possible for a nuclear explosion to occur.  Very specific geometries and designs must be met for a nuclear explosion.  Yet, this seems to be what you meant by &quot;Yes, even unenriched Uranium will explode, if you pile up more than the critical mass at which an uncontrollable chain fission reaction will start.&quot;  An &quot;uncontrollable chain fission reaction&quot; is not necessarily a nuclear explosion.  It takes much more than exceeding critical mass to result in a nuclear explosion.  It may result in a steam explosion as the water is heated up to a pressure greater than the system can handle if heat is added too fast.  This is called &quot;prompt critical&quot;.  There have been a number of prompt criticality accidents, but none have ended up in a nuclear explosion as the heat from the reaction tends to disrupt the geometry and stopping the reaction naturally.</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Your last paragraph here is a little misleading.  Yes, pressurized water reactors in the US use enriched uranium as the fuel.  However that enrichment is only between 3% and 5% (natural U-238 has an enrichment of approximately 0.7%).  The physical size of the reactor core acts as a moderator as the neutrons have such a distance to travel that the neutrons hit the moderator many more times than in a smaller reactor.</p>
<p>There are reactor designs that use highly enriched uranium but these are not used for commercial power.  They are used when very compact reactors are needed (or when getting heavy water to replenish water supply is impossible to get).</p>
<p>Also, due to reactor design it is not possible for a nuclear explosion to occur.  Very specific geometries and designs must be met for a nuclear explosion.  Yet, this seems to be what you meant by &#8220;Yes, even unenriched Uranium will explode, if you pile up more than the critical mass at which an uncontrollable chain fission reaction will start.&#8221;  An &#8220;uncontrollable chain fission reaction&#8221; is not necessarily a nuclear explosion.  It takes much more than exceeding critical mass to result in a nuclear explosion.  It may result in a steam explosion as the water is heated up to a pressure greater than the system can handle if heat is added too fast.  This is called &#8220;prompt critical&#8221;.  There have been a number of prompt criticality accidents, but none have ended up in a nuclear explosion as the heat from the reaction tends to disrupt the geometry and stopping the reaction naturally.</p>
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	<item>
		<title>By: Dear Science &#187; Blog Archive &#187; Nuclear Power: What&#8217;s Next.</title>
		<link>http://dearscience.org/2008/06/02/nuclear-power-the-reactor/comment-page-1/#comment-152</link>
		<dc:creator>Dear Science &#187; Blog Archive &#187; Nuclear Power: What&#8217;s Next.</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Sat, 07 Jun 2008 01:30:39 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://dearscience.org/?p=89#comment-152</guid>
		<description>[...] scant neutrons around. Hence the collection of plants in operation today, almost all based around mildly enriched Uranium, moderated and cooled by heavily pressurized water. By far not the safest or most efficient design, but doable, particularly if you are limited to [...]</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>[...] scant neutrons around. Hence the collection of plants in operation today, almost all based around mildly enriched Uranium, moderated and cooled by heavily pressurized water. By far not the safest or most efficient design, but doable, particularly if you are limited to [...]</p>
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		<title>By: Dear Science &#187; Blog Archive &#187; Nuclear Power: Disaster!</title>
		<link>http://dearscience.org/2008/06/02/nuclear-power-the-reactor/comment-page-1/#comment-144</link>
		<dc:creator>Dear Science &#187; Blog Archive &#187; Nuclear Power: Disaster!</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Thu, 05 Jun 2008 18:59:12 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://dearscience.org/?p=89#comment-144</guid>
		<description>[...] think back to our earlier reactor design talk: Hey, something nifty! Water is both a good coolant and moderator! No moderator, no chain reaction, [...]</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>[...] think back to our earlier reactor design talk: Hey, something nifty! Water is both a good coolant and moderator! No moderator, no chain reaction, [...]</p>
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		<title>By: Dear Science: Nuclear power &#171; B.D.&#8217;s Last Refuge</title>
		<link>http://dearscience.org/2008/06/02/nuclear-power-the-reactor/comment-page-1/#comment-141</link>
		<dc:creator>Dear Science: Nuclear power &#171; B.D.&#8217;s Last Refuge</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Thu, 05 Jun 2008 02:24:27 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://dearscience.org/?p=89#comment-141</guid>
		<description>[...] .nuclearPower: The Reactor [...]</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>[...] .nuclearPower: The Reactor [...]</p>
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		<title>By: Dear Science &#187; Blog Archive &#187; Nuclear Power: Nuclear Waste</title>
		<link>http://dearscience.org/2008/06/02/nuclear-power-the-reactor/comment-page-1/#comment-134</link>
		<dc:creator>Dear Science &#187; Blog Archive &#187; Nuclear Power: Nuclear Waste</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Wed, 04 Jun 2008 19:02:05 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://dearscience.org/?p=89#comment-134</guid>
		<description>[...] got our reactor up and humming. Our fuel is fissioning, splitting into smaller atoms and releasing neutrons. Our moderator is [...]</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>[...] got our reactor up and humming. Our fuel is fissioning, splitting into smaller atoms and releasing neutrons. Our moderator is [...]</p>
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		<title>By: Dear Science &#187; Blog Archive &#187; Nuclear Power: Radiation!</title>
		<link>http://dearscience.org/2008/06/02/nuclear-power-the-reactor/comment-page-1/#comment-124</link>
		<dc:creator>Dear Science &#187; Blog Archive &#187; Nuclear Power: Radiation!</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Tue, 03 Jun 2008 22:36:08 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://dearscience.org/?p=89#comment-124</guid>
		<description>[...] can&#8217;t all be good news. Yes, using a properly designed nuclear reactor, we can capture vast amounts of useful energy by helping atoms get closer to the ideal, iron. Now [...]</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>[...] can&#8217;t all be good news. Yes, using a properly designed nuclear reactor, we can capture vast amounts of useful energy by helping atoms get closer to the ideal, iron. Now [...]</p>
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	<item>
		<title>By: Dear Science &#187; Blog Archive &#187; Nuclear Power</title>
		<link>http://dearscience.org/2008/06/02/nuclear-power-the-reactor/comment-page-1/#comment-123</link>
		<dc:creator>Dear Science &#187; Blog Archive &#187; Nuclear Power</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Tue, 03 Jun 2008 00:42:44 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://dearscience.org/?p=89#comment-123</guid>
		<description>[...] than knowledge. I&#8217;m going to attempt a brief series on the physics of nuclear power plants, the parts needed to build a reactor, the biological effects of radiation, the positives and negatives of the energy source, compare and [...]</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>[...] than knowledge. I&#8217;m going to attempt a brief series on the physics of nuclear power plants, the parts needed to build a reactor, the biological effects of radiation, the positives and negatives of the energy source, compare and [...]</p>
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