Nuclear fuel facts for kids
Nuclear fuel is a material that can be consumed to take over nuclear energy, by analogy to chemical fuel that is burned for energy. Nuclear fuels are the most dense sources of energy available.
Most nuclear fuels contain heavy fissile elements which to undergo a nuclear fission chain reaction in a nuclear reactor. The most common nuclear fuels are uranium and plutonium but not all nuclear fuels are used in reactors.
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A sample of uranium ore.
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Close-up of a replica of the core of the research reactor at the Institut Laue-Langevin
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The thermal conductivity of zirconium metal and uranium dioxide as a function of temperature
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CANDU fuel bundles Two CANDU ("CANada Deuterium Uranium") fuel bundles, each about 50 cm long, 10 cm in diameter.
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A magnox fuel rod
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TRISO fuel particle which has been cracked, showing the multiple coating layers
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QUADRISO Particle
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RBMK reactor fuel rod holder 1 – distancing armature; 2 – fuel rods shell; 3 – fuel tablets.
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ATR Core The Advanced Test Reactor at Idaho National Laboratory uses plate-type fuel in a clover leaf arrangement. The blue glow around the core is known as Cherenkov radiation.
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Inspection of Cassini spacecraft RTGs before launch
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Photo of a disassembled RHU
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Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) photo of unirradiated (fresh) fuel pellets.
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NRC photo of fresh fuel pellets ready for assembly.
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NRC photo of fresh fuel being inspected.
Images for kids
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PWR fuel assembly (also known as a fuel bundle) This fuel assembly is from a pressurized water reactor of the nuclear-powered passenger and cargo ship NS Savannah. Designed and built by the Babcock & Wilcox Company.
See also
In Spanish: Combustible nuclear para niños
