Nuclear chain reaction between being slightly subcritical and slightly delayed-supercritical, but must always remain below prompt-critical. It is impossible for a nuclear power plant to undergo a nuclear chain reaction that results in an explosion of power comparable with a nuclear weapon, but even low-powered explosions due to uncontrolled chain reactions, that would be considered "fizzles" in a bomb, may still cause considerable damage and meltdown in a reactor. For example, the Chernobyl disaster involved a runaway chain reaction but the result was a low-powered steam explosion from the relatively small release of heat, as compared with a bomb. However, the reactor complex
Nuclear reactor heat removal Nuclear reactor heat removal The removal of heat from nuclear reactors is an essential step in the generation of energy from nuclear reactions. In nuclear engineering there are a number of empirical or semi-empirical relations used for quantifying the process of removing heat from a nuclear reactor core so that the reactor operates in the projected temperature interval that depends on the materials used in the construction of the reactor. The effectiveness of removal of heat from the reactor core depends on many factors, including the cooling agents used and the type of reactor. Common coolers for nuclear reactors include: