Topic summary
Production reactor
Extracted from the Wikipedia article Nuclear reactor.
By use
- Breeder reactors are capable of producing more fissile material than they consume during the fission chain reaction (by converting fertile U-238 to Pu-239, or Th-232 to U-233). Thus, a uranium breeder reactor, once running, can be refueled with natural or even depleted uranium, and a thorium breeder reactor can be refueled with thorium; however, an initial stock of fissile material is required.
- Creating various radioactiveisotopes, such as americium for use in smoke detectors, and cobalt-60, molybdenum-99, and others, used for imaging and medical treatment.
Overhead view of the core of the RA-3 Research and Production Reactor (CNEA, Argentina) - Production of materials for nuclear weapons such as weapons-gradeplutonium