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nuclear reactor

noun, Physics.
reactor (def 4).
Also called nuclear pile.
1940-45 Unabridged
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Examples from the web for nuclear reactor
  • Animals and plants seem to be prospering near the infamous nuclear reactor.
  • The resulting spray shorted out electronics and forced an automatic shutdown of the nuclear reactor.
  • The problem is, a nuclear reactor may have negative impact to its surrounding even during normal operation.
  • No nuclear reactor anywhere has been built without government subsidy.
  • It completely baffles me that a nuclear reactor can be prone to flooding.
  • Importantly, humans made and used nuclear weapons before they ever succeeded in generating electricity from a nuclear reactor.
  • It takes approximately ten years to finance and build one nuclear reactor alone.
British Dictionary definitions for nuclear reactor

nuclear reactor

a device in which a nuclear reaction is maintained and controlled for the production of nuclear energy Sometimes shortened to reactor Former name atomic pile See also fission reactor, fusion reactor
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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nuclear reactor in Science
nuclear reactor  

A device used to generate power, in which nuclear fission takes place as a controlled chain reaction, producing heat energy that is generally used to drive turbines and provide electric power. Nuclear reactors are used as a source of power in large power grids and in submarines.

Our Living Language  : A nuclear reactor uses a nuclear fission chain reaction to produce energy. The cylindrical core of a reactor consists of fuel rods containing pellets of fissionable material, usually uranium 235 or plutonium 239. These unstable isotopes readily split apart into smaller nuclei (in the fission reaction) when they absorb a neutron; they release large quantities of energy upon splitting, along with more neutrons that may be absorbed by the nuclei of other isotopes, causing a chain reaction. The neutrons are expelled from the fission reaction at very high speeds, and are not likely to be absorbed at such speeds. Moderators such as heavy water are therefore needed to slow the neutrons to a speed at which they are readily absorbed. The fuel rods contain enough fissionable material arranged in close enough proximity to start a self-sustaining chain reaction. To regulate the speed of the reaction, the fuel rods are interspersed with control rods made of a material (usually boron or cadmium) that absorbs some of the neutrons given off by the fuel. The deeper the control rods are inserted into the reactor core, the more the reaction is slowed down. If the control rods are fully inserted, the reaction stops. The chain reaction releases enormous amounts of heat, which is transferred through a closed loop of radioactive water to a separate, nonradioactive water system, creating pressurized steam. The steam drives turbines to turn electrical generators.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
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nuclear reactor in Culture

nuclear reactor definition

A device in which the energy released by the fission of nuclei of uranium or another element is used to produce steam to run an electrical generator or other device.

The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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