How to create a nuclear reactor at home. DIY nuclear reactor (1 photo)
Micro atomic reactor Unfortunately, it is impossible to create for domestic needs, and here's why. The operation of a nuclear reactor is based on chain reaction splitting of the nuclei of Uranus-235 (²³⁵U) by a thermal neutron: n + ²³⁵U → ¹⁴¹Ba + ⁹²Kr + γ (202.5 MeV) + 3n. The fission chain reaction pattern is shown below
On fig. you can see how a neutron, getting into the nucleus (²³⁵U), excites it and the nucleus splits into two fragments (¹⁴¹Ba, ⁹²Kr), a γ-quantum with an energy of 202.5 MeV and 3 free neutrons (on average), which in turn can split the next 3 uranium nuclei that are in their path. Thus, in the process of each splitting act, about 200 MeV of energy or ~3 × 10⁻¹¹ J is released, which corresponds to ~80 TeraJ/kg, or 2.5 million times more than would be released in the same amount of burning coal. But as Murphy instructs us: "if trouble should happen, then it will definitely happen," and part of the neutrons produced during fission is lost in the chain reaction. Neutrons can escape (jump out) from the active volume or be absorbed by impurities (for example, Krypton). The ratio of the number of neutrons of the next generation to the number of neutrons in the previous generation in the entire volume of the breeding neutron medium (nuclear reactor core) is called the neutron multiplication factor, k. For k<1 цепная реакция затухает, т.к. число поглощенных нейтронов больше числа вновь образовавшихся. При k>1, an explosion occurs almost instantly. When k is equal to 1, a controlled stationary chain reaction takes place. The neutron multiplication factor (k) is most sensitive to the mass and purity of the nuclear fuel (²³⁵U). In nuclear physics, the minimum mass of fissile material required to start a self-sustaining fission chain reaction (k≥1) is called the critical mass. For Uranus-235, it is equal to 50 kg. This is certainly not a microsize, but also a little. To avoid nuclear explosion and create the possibility of controlling the chain reaction (multiplication factor), the mass of fuel in the reactor must be increased and, accordingly, neutron absorbers (moderators) should be put into operation. It is precisely this engineering and technical equipment of the reactor, for the purpose of stable control of the chain reaction, the cooling system and additional facilities for the radiation safety of personnel, and require large volumes.
It is also possible to use Californium-232 as a fuel with a critical mass of about 2.7 kg. In the limit, it is quite possible to bring the reactor to the size of a ball with a diameter of several meters. Most likely, this is probably done on nuclear submarines. I think approaching such reactors should be very dangerous ☠ due to the inevitable neutron background, but you should ask the warriors for more details.
California is not suitable as a nuclear fuel due to its enormous cost. 1 gram of California-252 costs about $27 million. Only uranium is widely used as nuclear fuel. Fuel elements based on thorium and plutonium have not yet received wide distribution, but are being actively developed.
Relatively high compactness of submarine reactors is provided by the difference in design (usually pressurized water reactors, VVER / PWR are used), different requirements for them (other safety and emergency shutdown requirements; usually not much electricity is needed on board, unlike land-based power plant reactors , which were created only for the sake of electricity) and the use of varying degrees of fuel enrichment (the concentration of uranium-235 in relation to the concentration of uranium-238). Typically, much higher enriched uranium (20% to 96% for American boats) is used in marine reactor fuel. Also, unlike land-based power plants, where the use of fuel in the form of ceramics (uranium dioxide) is common, marine reactors most often use alloys of uranium with zirconium and other metals as fuel.
Devices generating electric current as a result of using the energy of nuclear decay are well studied (since 1913) and have long been mastered in production. They are mainly used where relative compactness and high autonomy are needed - in space exploration, underwater vehicles, unmanned and unmanned technologies. The prospects for their use in domestic conditions are rather modest, in addition to the radiation hazard, most types of nuclear fuel are highly toxic and, in principle, are extremely unsafe when in contact with environment. Despite the fact that in the English-language literature these devices are called atomic batteries, and it is not customary to call them reactors, they can be considered as such, because they undergo a decay reaction. If desired, such devices can be adapted for domestic needs, this may be relevant for conditions, for example, in Antarctica.
Radioisotope thermoelectric generators have existed for a long time and fully satisfy your request - they are compact and powerful enough. They work due to the Seebeck effect, they have no moving parts. If it were not contrary to common sense, safety precautions and the criminal code, such a generator could be buried somewhere under the garage in the country and even power a couple of light bulbs and a laptop from it. Sacrifice, so to speak, the health of descendants and neighbors for the sake of a hundred or two watts of electricity. In total, more than 1000 such generators were produced in Russia and the USSR.
As other participants have already answered, the prospects for miniaturization of "classical" nuclear power reactors using steam turbines to generate electricity are severely limited by the laws of physics, and the main limitations are imposed not so much by the size of the reactor as by the size of other equipment: boilers, pipelines, turbines, cooling towers. "Household" models most likely will not. Nevertheless, quite compact devices are now being actively developed, for example, NuScale's promising reactor with a power of 50 MWe has dimensions of only 76 by 15 inches, i.e. about two meters by 40 centimeters.
With the energy of nuclear fusion, everything is much more complicated and ambiguous. On the one hand, we can only talk about the long term. So far, even large nuclear fusion reactors do not provide energy, and there is simply no talk of their practical miniaturization. Nevertheless, a number of serious and even more serious organizations are developing compact energy sources based on fusion reactions. And if in the case of Lockheed Martin, the word "compact" means "the size of a van", then, for example, in the case of the American agency DARPA, which allocated in fiscal year 2009
after reading one specialized blog, talking with the author and his cellmates users ... what can I say - aggressive comrades. Behind the aggression, I see a poor knowledge of elementary physical processes, but God bless them.
I would like to talk a little about thermonuclear fusion, as I already noted, there is a binding energy, i.e. bound state energy i.e. if something whole is broken, then in the broken state it weighs more heavily than as a whole. since Uncle Albert established the relationship between mass and energy, you can estimate how much effort you need to spend on scrapping, simply by weighing the "fragments" and comparing it with the weight of the connected state.
it must be said that this value is vanishingly small and there is no special meaning in everyday life to burn about the energy of communication, say, a broken and whole brick.
As for nuclear energy, two types of reactions with the release of energy can be named - this is the "collapse" of heavy nuclei into lighter ones, and vice versa, the fusion of light nuclei into something heavy. we are of course interested in the reactions going with the release of energy.
Let's remember our recent past.
how to start a thermonuclear reaction on the knee? yes elementary. we only need reaction components, deep vacuum and high voltage.
After all, a gas can be ionized in a whole bunch of ways. the simplest is to create the necessary electric field strength. I will not describe the design in detail here, and there is nothing special to describe - these are, in general, two balls one inside the other, the inner one is made of refractory wire. between the balls create a large potential difference - that's all. if in a ball (external) for example, a pair of deterium, everything will go like clockwork. those. Heavy water appears to be the main component. it is easily obtained. the process is not fast. the bottom line is that deuterium isotopes have slightly different physical properties compared to ordinary hydrogen. and just by evaporating and freezing water, you can "get some deuterium". other faster separation options may be possible.
By the way, the voltage you need is quite large - tens of kilovolts, I heard about the values \u200b\u200bof 40 kV. everything is simple and elementary. you can push Google with a key like "do-it-yourself fusion reactor", you can go to YouTube and type in the word fusor into a local search engine.
everything is simple and elementary.
the question arises why no one develops this type of reactor? the world behind the scenes interferes with Ali or what else?
the answer is simple - plasma is not retained. those. even if the ions managed to overcome the Coulomb barrier and the reaction occurred, which, by the way, can be seen from the neutron detector, then that's about it. modern reactors work differently - they are a trap in which the plasma is located, the plasma must be ignited, and then the reaction goes on self-sustaining without supplying energy from outside. By the way, you still need to hold the plasma :)
this "lure" has been dragging humanity by the nose for more than a decade, promising it a solution to many energy problems, but the retention of plasma is a painstaking and creative process, and has not been fully resolved. God forbid, ITER will be completed and a demonstration of thermonuclear energy will be shown to the world. There are some grounds for optimism, but personally I am skeptical. even if everything works out and everything works, building such an installation in "one person" will not work out in a row. Accordingly, this is a search for new plasma regimes, new confinement methods, etc., all that will reduce the cost of the installation.
now they are again talking about open-type traps - this is a cheaper option, and new knowledge has made it possible to keep the plasma much longer than before, but there is no need to talk about the practical suitability of the experimental results.
if you can't live without a neutron flux, then you just need to collect fusor, but if you are looking for some practical use, then you do not need to do this.
besides, I think the development of alternative energy also cannot be discounted. There are very cheap and efficient methods for building ultra-long-range power transmission lines, one such method is the increase in the efficiency of solar modules, which I also wrote about, the development of energy conservation systems. I don’t know, money rules the world, of course, the idea of a “thermonuclear” is so romantic-exotic-futuristic, but in life, as a rule, rationalism prevails.
1. A free-piston Stirling engine is powered by heating by "atomic steam" 2. An induction generator provides about 2 W of electricity to power an incandescent lamp 3. The characteristic blue glow is the Cherenkov radiation of electrons knocked out of atoms by gamma quanta. Can serve as a great night light!
For children aged 14 and over, a young researcher will be able to independently assemble a small but real nuclear reactor, learn what prompt and delayed neutrons are, and see the dynamics of acceleration and deceleration of a nuclear chain reaction. A few simple experiments with a gamma-ray spectrometer will allow you to understand the production of various fission products and experiment with the reproduction of fuel from the now fashionable thorium (a piece of thorium-232 sulfide is attached). The included book "Fundamentals of Nuclear Physics for the Little Ones" contains descriptions of over 300 experiments with the assembled reactor, so the scope for creativity is huge.
Historic Prototype The Atomic Energy Lab Kit (1951) gave schoolchildren the opportunity to join the most advanced field of science and technology. The electroscope, cloud chamber and Geiger-Muller counter made it possible to carry out many interesting experiments. But, of course, not as interesting as assembling an operating reactor from Russian set"Desktop Nuclear Power Plant"!
In the 1950s, with the advent of nuclear reactors, it would seem that brilliant prospects for solving all energy problems loomed before mankind. Energy engineers designed nuclear power plants, shipbuilders - nuclear electric ships, and even auto designers decided to join the holiday and use the "peaceful atom". A “nuclear boom” arose in society, and the industry began to lack qualified specialists. An influx of new personnel was required, and a serious educational campaign was launched not only among university students, but also among schoolchildren. For example, A.C. The Gilbert Company released the Atomic Energy Lab children's kit in 1951, containing several small radioactive sources, the necessary instruments, and samples of uranium ore. This "state-of-the-art science kit," the box said, allowed "young researchers to perform over 150 exciting science experiments."
Personnel decides everything
Over the past half century, scientists have learned some bitter lessons and learned how to build reliable and safe reactors. Although the industry is currently in a downturn caused by the recent Fukushima accident, it will soon be on the rise again, and nuclear power plants will continue to be seen as an extremely promising way to generate clean, reliable and safe energy. But already now in Russia there is a shortage of personnel, as in the 1950s. In order to attract schoolchildren and increase interest in nuclear energy, the Scientific and Production Enterprise (NPP) Ecoatomconversion, following the example of A.C. Gilbert Company, has released an educational kit for children from 14 years old. Of course, science has not stood still over these half a century, therefore, unlike its historical prototype, the modern set allows you to get a much more interesting result, namely, to assemble a real model of a nuclear power plant on the table. Of course, active.
Literacy from the cradle
“Our company comes from Obninsk, a city where nuclear energy is familiar and familiar to people almost from kindergarten, - Andrey Vykhadanko, scientific director of NPP Ecoatomconversion, explains to PM. “And everyone understands that there is absolutely no need to be afraid of her. After all, only the unknown danger is truly terrible. Therefore, we decided to release this kit for schoolchildren, which will allow them to experiment and learn the principles of operation of nuclear reactors without putting themselves and others at serious risk. As you know, the knowledge gained in childhood is the strongest, so with the release of this set we hope to significantly reduce the likelihood of a repeat of Chernobyl or
Fukushima in the future.
Waste plutonium
Over the years, many nuclear power plants have accumulated tons of so-called reactor-grade plutonium. It consists mainly of weapons-grade Pu-239 containing about 20% impurities of other isotopes, primarily Pu-240. This makes reactor-grade plutonium completely unsuitable for making nuclear bombs. The separation of impurities is very difficult, since the mass difference between the 239th and 240th isotopes is only 0.4%. The manufacture of nuclear fuel with the addition of reactor-grade plutonium turned out to be technologically difficult and economically unprofitable, so this material was left out of work. It is "waste" plutonium that is used in the "Young Atomic Engineer's Kit", developed by Ecoatomconversion Research and Production Enterprise.
As is known, for a fission chain reaction to start, nuclear fuel must have a certain critical mass. For a ball of weapons-grade uranium-235, it is 50 kg, for plutonium-239 - only 10. A shell of a neutron reflector, such as beryllium, can reduce the critical mass by several times. And the use of a moderator, as in thermal neutron reactors, would reduce the critical mass by more than a factor of ten, to a few kilograms of highly enriched U-235. The critical mass of Pu-239 will be hundreds of grams, and it is precisely such an ultra-compact reactor that fits on a table that was developed at Ecoatomconversion.
What's in the box
The packaging of the set is modestly designed in black and white, and only dim three-segment radioactivity icons stand out against the general background. “There is really no danger,” Andrey says, pointing to the words “Totally safe!” written on the box. “But these are the requirements of the official authorities.” The box is heavy, which is not surprising: it contains a sealed shipping lead container with a fuel assembly (FA) of six plutonium rods with a zirconium sheath. In addition, the kit includes an outer reactor vessel made of heat-resistant glass with chemical hardening, a vessel cover with a glass window and pressure seals, a stainless steel core vessel, a support for the reactor, and a boron carbide absorber control rod. The electrical part of the reactor is represented by a free-piston Stirling engine with connecting polymer tubes, a small incandescent lamp and wires. The kit also includes a one-pound bag of boric acid powder, a pair of protective suits with respirators, and a gamma ray spectrometer with a built-in helium neutron detector.
NPP construction
Assembling a working nuclear power plant model according to the attached picture guide is very simple and takes less than half an hour. Putting on a stylish protective suit (it is needed only during assembly), we open the sealed package with fuel assemblies. Then we insert the assembly inside the reactor vessel, cover it with the core vessel. At the end, we snap the cover with pressure seals on top. It is necessary to insert the absorber rod into the central one to the end, and through any of the other two, fill the active zone with distilled water to the line on the body. After filling, pipes for steam and condensate are connected to the pressure lines, passing through the heat exchanger of the Stirling engine. The nuclear power plant itself is finished and ready for launch, all that remains is to place it on a special stand in an aquarium filled with a solution of boric acid, which perfectly absorbs neutrons and protects the young researcher from neutron radiation.
Three, two, one - go!
We bring a gamma spectrometer with a neutron sensor close to the aquarium wall: a small part of the neutrons, which does not pose a threat to health, still comes out. Slowly raise the adjusting rod to the start rapid growth a stream of neutrons, signifying the start of a self-sustaining nuclear reaction. It remains only to wait until the desired power is reached and push the rod back 1 cm along the marks so that the reaction rate stabilizes. As soon as boiling begins, a layer of steam will appear in the upper part of the core casing (perforation in the casing prevents this layer from exposing the plutonium rods, which could lead to their overheating). The steam goes up through the tube to the Stirling engine, where it condenses and flows down the outlet tube into the reactor. The temperature difference between the two ends of the engine (one heated by steam and the other cooled by room air) is converted into oscillations of a magnet piston, which, in turn, induces an alternating current in the winding surrounding the engine, igniting atomic light in the hands of a young researcher and, as they hope developers, atomic interest in his heart.
Editor's Note: This article was published in the April issue of the magazine and is an April Fool's raffle.
material.
Launch of the world's first artificial nuclear reactor
On August 2, news from prosperous Sweden spread around the world. "A man built a nuclear reactor in his kitchen," the headlines screamed, and before the gaze of the layman greedy for sensations, a fantastic-looking installation appeared, hidden under the interweaving of pipes and wires, inside which those very nuclear reactions took place. Adding fuel to the fire was the fact that the Swede spent a little less than a thousand dollars on the construction of his offspring, and allegedly received radioactive materials for the reactor from abroad.
It is clear that on the Internet, a discussion of what happened immediately began. Someone remembered Anders Breivik, lamenting that the Scandinavians began to get into the news for extremely dangerous reasons; some worried that such technologies would end up in the hands of terrorists; and someone was interested in what practical use you can find the invention of the mysterious Richard (so far only the alleged name of the craftsman is known, and even then only because the blog in which the creator of the reactor reported in detail on the progress of the project was called "Richard's Reactor"). As often happens, in reality the story turned out to be much less fantastic than it seemed at first glance - Richard never built a working reactor, and in general, it seems, he was just trying to repeat the feat of the legendary Radioactive Boy Scout.
New York Web Designer and Radioactive Boy Scout
Before moving on to Richard's story, two important facts should be noted. Firstly, a home nuclear reactor is not such a rarity these days. For example, in June 2010, one Mark Sapps, known mainly as a web designer for the Gucci house, became the 38th individual (among these enthusiasts who have their own website, for example, there is a 15-year-old student from Michigan) who carried out the reaction of nuclear fusion at home (Richard, we recall, was interested in decay). Sapps' installation (on which, by the way, he spent about 40 thousand dollars) consumes more energy than it produces. At the same time, from the story with the web designer, one can get a general idea of the availability of nuclear technologies in modern world.
Secondly, Richard clearly followed in the footsteps of 17-year-old American schoolboy David Kahn - the technologies of both enthusiastic physicists coincide on many points, including the selection of raw materials in the form of used smoke detectors, old clocks and grids for kerosene lamps. That is why, before talking about the Swede, it is necessary to tell the story of a simple American schoolboy who received the nickname Radioactive Boy Scout in the press.
In June 1995, people in protective anti-radiation suits raided a small town in Michigan. Instead of evacuating people, as it should be in a science fiction film, they began to dismantle a small shed in the backyard of a local resident named Patty Kahn. The structure was sawn into small pieces, which were then carefully placed in large metal containers with a characteristic shamrock on a yellow background. It turned out that the barn contained radioactive materials that belonged to Patty's son named David - at that time 17-year-old young man.
From the age of 12, David was fond of chemistry, and then became interested in nuclear physics. Probably, it was then that he came up with the idea to build a nuclear reactor right at home (in this case, unlike Sapps, we are talking about reactions in which elements turn into each other with the emission of elementary particles). However, after one of the experiments, which ended in an explosion, the mother forbade the young man to do experiments in the house. So David, unbeknownst to Patty, moved the lab to a barn. It must be said that young Kahn collected the information necessary to create the reactor almost bit by bit - pretending to be either a student working on a report or a school physics teacher, he called, wrote to a variety of organizations, including the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission, where the young " the teacher" was given a lot good advice. When the theoretical part of the preparation was completed, the young man began the practical implementation of the project.
Initially, his goal was simply to carry out some kind of nuclear reaction, and he decided to assemble a neutron gun - a source of directed neutrons. To do this, he needed a source of alpha particles (that is, particles consisting of two protons and two neutrons). Americium-241 acted as it. It turned out that this material was used in small quantities in the manufacture of old smoke detectors - advice on extracting material from parts Kahn was given in an electrical company from Illinois. Taking out americium, Kahn placed it in a lead chamber with a small hole, wrapped in foil. Irradiation of the aluminum foil covering the hole made it possible to obtain a neutron flux.
Thorium-232 was used as a target for the neutron gun, which, as it turned out, in in large numbers present in grids used in old (including kerosene) lamps. With the help of lithium and some simple chemical reactions, David obtained a fairly pure thorium at a concentration 170 times higher than allowed by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Kahn planned to irradiate thorium with neutrons in order to obtain thorium-233 (its half-life is just over 22 minutes), which, as a result of subsequent decay, would turn into protactinium (half-life - 27 days), and then into uranium-233. It turned out, however, that David's neutron gun fired too few neutrons, and they were all too fast, which in the world of nuclear physics, based on probability, did not allow for the desired reaction.
David decided to improve the gun. To do this, he began to collect radium - a radioactive element that is found in old watches: the paint containing this element was covered with clock hands glowing in the dark. Instead of aluminum in the gun, Kahn used beryllium, a sample of which, at the request of David from the school collection of minerals, was stolen by his friend. What acted as a neutron moderator is unknown, but the Swede Richard recommended the use of paraffin, graphite, boron or cadmium. Be that as it may, David's cannon worked. The object for irradiation was a powder made of decorative beads containing a certain amount of uranium. How such a gun looks like in practice and how, using the listed materials, you can assemble some kind of reactor, is described in detail in this video.
I must say that David ended badly. He served in the Navy when journalists found him in the early 2000s - at that time the book "Radioactive Boy Scout" was just published about him. David told them that he planned to devote his life to nuclear physics. In 2007, however, he was arrested while trying to steal smoke detectors from a building. After that, he ended up in prison, and from that moment on, his traces are lost. I must say that in the photographs on the day of his arrest, David Kahn looked very unimportant - many believe, because of the unquenched obsession with radioactive materials, which finally undermined his health.
Swedish reactor builder
Richard started his blog (quite empty, I must say) in May 2011, and from the very beginning he announced that he was building his reactor just like that, for fun.
Further, over the course of several posts, he, as is customary with most bloggers, that is, without any references, describes the methods for obtaining radium, thorium and americium, which were used by David Kahn. There is even a mention in the blog about the notorious beads that contain uranium. At the same time, no results of experiments or at least an image of the reactor appeared on his blog. The maximum that is there is several models of neutron guns, one of which is assembled in a plastic medical vial.
Finally, the penultimate post (May 21) was about Richard trying to "weld" americium, radium and beryllium in acid to mix better (probably to create a neutron gun), but this led to an explosion. The last blog post is dated July 21st. In it, the author writes that he was detained by the police, and all radioactive materials were confiscated from him.
This information coincides with the version presented in the local newspaper Helsingborgs Dagblad, which became, apparently, the source of the sensational news. According to the publication, the young man himself turned to the Committee on Nuclear Energy with the question of whether he was violating the law by building a nuclear reactor in his kitchen. It turned out that he was violating - that's how Richard ended up in the police.
Here is such a story. Since Richard did not write anything on the blog for two months, he apparently did not achieve any particular success in building the reactor. And indeed, the too great similarity of Richard's experiments with the history of the Radioactive Boy Scout casts doubt on the reality of his attempt. One thing can be said for sure right now: the sensation did not take place.
Nuclear "miracles" next to us
Old smoke detector. Here americium
Beryllium
Thorium can be extracted from these meshes
neutron gun
Clock hands with radium
Keychain with tritium
A little uranium in a bead
Why pay off so much dough to some hydroelectric power station or thermal power plant when you can supply electricity to yourself? I think it's no secret to anyone that uranium is mined in our country. Uranium is the fuel for a nuclear reactor. In general, if you are a little more persistent, then without much difficulty you can buy a uranium tablet.
What you will need:
Uranium 235 and 233 isotope tablet 1 cm thick
Capacitor
Lead
Zirconium
Turbine
electricity generator
graphite rods
Saucepan 5-7 liters
Geiger counter
L-1 light protective suit and IP-4MK gas mask with RP-7B cartridge
The scheme that I will describe was used at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. Now the atom is used in lighthouses, submarines, space stations. The reactor works due to the massive release of steam. The uranium 235 isotope gives off an incredible amount of heat, thanks to which we get steam from water. The reactor also emits large doses of radiation. The reactor is easy to assemble, even a teenager can do it. I immediately warn you that the chances of getting sick with radiation sickness or getting radioactive burns during self-assembly of the reactor are very high. Therefore, the instructions are for reference only.
1) First you need to find a place to assemble the reactor. Dacha is best. It is advisable to assemble the reactor in the basement so that it can be buried later. First you need to make a furnace for melting lead and zirconium.
After we take a saucepan and make 3 holes in its lid with a diameter of 2 × 0.6 and 1 × 5 cm, and make one 5 cm hole in the bottom of the saucepan. Then we pour hot lead over the saucepan so that the lead layer on the saucepan is at least 1 cm (do not touch the lid yet).
2) Next we need zirconium. We melt four tubes from it with a diameter of 2 × 0.55 and 2 × 4.95 cm and a height of 5-10 cm. We insert three tubes into the lid of the saucepan, and one large tube into the bottom. Insert graphite rods into tubes 0.55 cm long so that they reach the bottom of the saucepan.
3) Now let's connect: our saucepan (now a reactor) - a turbine - a generator - an adapter for direct current.
The turbine has 2 outlets, one goes to the condenser (which is connected to the reactor)
Now we put on a protective suit. We throw a uranium tablet into a saucepan, close it and fill the saucepan with lead from the outside so that there are no gaps left.
We lower the graphite rods to the end and pour water into the reactor.
4) Now very slowly pull the rods out until the water boils. The water temperature should not exceed 180 degrees. In the reactor, uranium neutrons multiply, which is why water boils. The steam turns our turbine, which in turn turns the generator.
The essence of the reactor is not to allow it to change the multiplication factor. If the number of free neutrons formed is equal to the number of neutrons that caused nuclear fission, then K = 1 and the same amount of energy is released every unit of time, if K<1 то выделение энергии будет уменьшатся, а если К>1 energy will increase and what will happen is what happened at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant - your reactor will simply explode due to pressure. This parameter can be adjusted with graphite rods, and monitored with the help of special devices.
5) The reactor can work continuously for 7-8 years. After the expiration of the period of use, dispose of it in a chemical waste dump.
