British Sign Language Glossaries of Curriculum Terms

BSL Environmental Science Glossary - Plutonium reactors definition

Definition: A plutonium reactor is a nuclear power station that produces electricity. The reaction in the reactor is called 'nuclear fission', and this process produces a lot of energy. They use uranium as a fuel. Nuclear fission will occur when a neutron slams into a larger Uranium atom, forcing it to excite and split into two smaller atoms. Additional neutrons are also released that can initiate a chain reaction. When each atom splits, a tremendous amount of energy is released. This will produce electricity and heat. Plutonium is created in the reactor as one of the products, which is why these reactors are called Plutonium reactors.