As we near the end of the century, the disposal of nuclear waste is becoming a concern. Many nuclear power plants around the world are nearing the end of their operating lives. The disposal of radioactive waste from nuclear power plants and nuclear missiles is as politically intense an issue as the...

Fast neutrons produced in the fission reaction are slowed when they bounce off light atoms such as hydrogen or carbon and contains a large amount of such moderating material to slow down the fission neutrons. This takes advantage of the fact that the probability of a neutron being absorbed into another...

Thermal and fast nuclear reactors A nuclear reactor converts the fissile components, such as 235U, of nuclear fuel into energy, and fertile components, such as 238U, into fissile components and then into energy. A fissile atom is one that is very likely to be fissioned (split) when a neutron is absorbed, thereby enabling a nuclear chain reaction....