Nuclear Fission Reactors (Nuclear Power)

Description

Despite the many practical ways to make electrical power using nuclear reactors, the world seems to have settled on using water heated to a boil by nuclear fission as the method of choice. There are several sub-types of nuclear reactors presently being used as energy sources worldwide. Nuclear Fission Reactors attempts to make sense of the technical chaos by breaking it down into small parts and explaining the purpose and function of each one. Readers are taken on a tour of a General Electric boiling water reactor plant, giving them a thorough understanding of nuclear power production. Covering such topics as air pollution, thermal pollution, the ultimate availability of uranium, fuel reprocessing, and the bottom-line cost of nuclear power, this new, full-color resource gives a detailed analysis of nuclear fission reactors with an index, glossary, chronology, and further resources. Although nuclear reactors have more moving parts, pipe-runs, and information-gathering systems than could be imagined 70 years ago, this comprehensive book makes this complicated technique understandable, filling in the thin spots in our collective knowledge. Cover Contents Preface Acknowledgments Introduction 1: The Nuclear Fission Process 2: How to Make Energy with Nuclear Fission 3: Controlling Nuclear Fission 4: Transferring Heat and Keeping Things from Melting 5: The Many Ways to Build a Power Plant 6: Nonnuclear Components of a Power Plant 7: A Walk through a Nuclear Power Plant 8: Environmental Advantages, Disadvantages and Economics Conclusion Chronology Glossary Further Resources Index