Nuclear power plant

An industrial facility that uses nuclear fission to generate electricity, usually by heating water to produce steam that drives turbines.

Nuclear reactor: A device that sustains and controls a nuclear chain reaction, releasing energy from fission. The reactor core supplies the heat that the plant converts into electricity.
Nuclear chain reaction: A sequence of nuclear reactions in which neutrons from one fission event cause further fissions. A controlled chain reaction maintains the heat source inside the reactor.
Pressurized water reactor: A reactor design that keeps primary coolant under high pressure so it does not boil in the core. It is the most widely deployed reactor design and separates primary coolant from turbine steam.
Nuclear safety: The engineering and operational practices used to prevent nuclear accidents and limit their consequences. Plant safety depends on layered systems that control fission, remove heat, and contain radioactive material.
Obninsk Nuclear Power Plant: A Soviet nuclear power plant that began supplying electricity to a public grid in 1954. Its operation marked an early demonstration of grid-connected nuclear electricity.
Nuclear fission: The splitting of an atomic nucleus into lighter nuclei, releasing energy and usually neutrons. Fission releases the heat that drives the plant’s power cycle.
Reactor coolant: A fluid that removes heat from a nuclear reactor core and transfers it to another system. Coolant carries heat away from the fuel while helping maintain safe temperatures.
Boiling water reactor: A reactor design in which water boils inside the reactor vessel and the resulting steam drives a turbine. Unlike a pressurized-water reactor, it sends reactor-vessel steam directly to the turbine.
Nuclear meltdown: Severe reactor damage in which nuclear fuel overheats and melts after inadequate cooling. Loss of cooling can damage fuel and challenge the plant’s containment barriers.
Shippingport Atomic Power Station: A Pennsylvania nuclear plant that began commercial operation in 1957 as the first full-scale U.S. commercial nuclear power station. It became an early U.S. example of civilian nuclear electricity generation.

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