Boiling water reactor

A boiling water reactor is a light-water nuclear reactor that boils coolant inside its reactor vessel and sends the resulting steam directly to the turbine.

Nuclear fission: A nuclear reaction in which a heavy atomic nucleus splits into lighter nuclei, releasing energy and neutrons. Fission in the fuel supplies the heat that boils the reactor’s water.
Light water: Ordinary water, composed of hydrogen-1 and oxygen, used as a coolant and neutron moderator in reactors. It carries heat from the fuel and slows neutrons in the core.
Pressurized water reactor: A light-water reactor that keeps primary coolant under pressure so it does not boil in the reactor vessel. It transfers heat to a separate steam circuit instead of sending reactor steam to the turbine.
Nuclear power: Electricity or useful heat generated from energy released by nuclear reactions. Boiling water reactors convert fission heat into grid electricity.
Dresden Nuclear Power Station: A nuclear generating station in Illinois that began operating in 1960 with a commercial boiling water reactor. Dresden 1 was an early commercial example of the reactor type.
Nuclear reactor core: The region of a nuclear reactor containing fuel and the materials that sustain and control the chain reaction. Fuel assemblies and control components occupy the vessel’s central region.
Nuclear fuel: Material containing fissile nuclides that release energy through fission in a nuclear reactor. Fuel rods provide the fission heat that generates steam.
Heavy water reactor: A nuclear reactor that uses deuterium oxide as a moderator, often allowing natural uranium fuel. Its moderator and fuel options differ from this light-water design.
Steam generator: A heat exchanger that transfers energy from a reactor coolant circuit to water in a separate steam circuit. This design does not require the separate steam generator used in many pressurized water plants.
Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station: A boiling water reactor power station in New Jersey that operated from 1969 to 2018. Its long operation shows the design’s use in a commercial U.S. plant.

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