Explore Nuclear

U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower delivered his ‘Atoms for Peace’ speech to the UN General Assembly on December 8, 1953.

Nuclear fuel continues to generate heat after fission stops. This is due to the natural radioactivity of the material.

Workers use mechanical actuators to manipulate radioactive materials inside a heavily shielded process line.

Fuel rods and fuel assemblies can be enormous. They are typically up to 4 metres long.

Cooling towers are not the only way to remove waste heat. Power stations located on the coast will typically use fresh seawater instead.

Almost 50% of radiation the average person receives comes from a gas called Radon.

Uranium takes its name from a planet in our solar system. Uranium was discovered in 1789 and named after the recently discovered planet Uranus.

Some nuclear reactor types use gases to cool the reactor core instead of water. A common example is Carbon Dioxide.

The Core of Windscale Unit 1 overheated and caught fire on the 10th of October 1957.

Boilers turn water into steam using heat from the reactor. Heat that cannot be extracted from the steam is later rejected into the atmosphere using the cooling towers.

To avoid exposing people to radiation, the movement of waste packages is done via automated cranes in modern facilities. The facilities are also heavily shielded.

Pressurised Water Reactor fuel assemblies contain hundreds of individual fuel rods. The tubes containing control rods can be seen in the gap between the fuel rods and the assembly head.

Reactor No. 4 of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant exploded on the 26th of April 1986.

Advanced fuel technologies reimagine how nuclear fuel works and looks. A promising concept is the use of pebbles instead of rods.

A worker uses mechanical actuators to handle equipment inside a hot cell. 

Our careers quiz lets you quickly and easily find the ideal job for you in the nuclear industry.

Workers observe instruments in the main control room.

Our ‘Museum’ section lets you immerse yourself in the incredible moments and items that define the industry. 

Workers move about the area above the opened reactor pressure tank. The area was often used for monitoring or assembling experimental equipment.

Cherenkov radiation is crucial in astrophysics for studying high-energy cosmic phenomena. In high-energy cosmic ray events, particles entering the Earth’s atmosphere create secondary particles that emit Cherenkov radiation in air.

Glove boxes are sealed containers which can be used to manually handle dangerous materials. They are used in many industries, including nuclear.

Cherenkov radiation causes a blue shine under water. The phenomenon is caused by charged particles traveling through the medium.

A nuclear submarine can remain submerged for months, limited only by the crew’s food supply and psychological endurance.

Uranium is the world’s most energy dense fuel source. One pellet contains as much energy as 1000kg of coal.

Boiling Water Reactors (BWRs) are the second most common nuclear reactor type and work by heating water in the core until it turns into steam, which then goes on to drive turbines.

Atomic weapons release so much energy that temperatures over 100 million degrees Celsius can be reached during the reaction.

Pseudo-scientific beauty and medical products made with radioactive materials used to be sold under the false pretence of health benefits.

Launched on the 21st of January 1954, USS Nautilus became the first nuclear powered submarine.

There are lots of paths into the nuclear industry that require no formal education.

Decommissioning is the process of shutting down, cleaning up, and dismantling a nuclear power station.