Explore Nuclear

One of the earliest and most ambitious concepts for nuclear space propulsion was Project Orion, developed in the U.S. during the late 1950s. Orion proposed propelling a spacecraft by detonating a series of small nuclear bombs behind it.

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

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

Our ‘3D Models / Simulations’ page lets you look inside the depths of a nuclear reactor and even take control of a complete power station.

Radioactive waste is often stabilised and encased to keep it secure. Vitrification involves embedding waste into glass.

Uranium goes through a range of different stages to turn it into nuclear fuel. The most recognisable of these is called yellowcake.

Bikini Atoll, a small ring of islands in the Marshall Islands, became a significant site in the history of nuclear weapons testing. Between 1946 and 1958, the United States conducted 23 nuclear tests at this remote location.

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

Breeder reactors are a unique type of nuclear reactor, capable of producing more fuel than they consume.

Carbon dating uses the half-life properties of the radioactive Carbon-14 isotope to determine the age of substances.

Fusion is the process that powers the sun and other stars, where hydrogen nuclei fuse together to form helium.

If you are pursuing a career in the nuclear industry, our ‘Next Steps’ tool can help you pick the right path for you.

Nuclear energy generates the lowest greenhouse gas emissions of all major energy sources.

Molten Salt Reactors use a liquid mixture of salts that are kept in a molten state at high temperatures. The nuclear fuel, such as uranium or thorium, is dissolved directly into this molten salt.

A reactor is filled to the brim with control instrumentation which monitors every aspect of the reactor’s operation.

Nuclear propulsion is commonplace in military vessels such as submarines, aircraft carriers, and even ice breakers.

France used nuclear energy to generate almost 80% of its total energy between the mid 90s and the mid 2010s.

Three Mile Island Unit 2 experienced a partial core meltdown on the 28th of March 1979.

Our ‘Comics’ page lets you go on various illustrated adventures through the history, science, and technology of nuclear energy.

A number of uranium cubes produced during the Manhattan Project. 

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

Nuclear batteries, also known as atomic batteries or radioisotope generators, are devices that convert the energy from radioactive decay into usable electrical power. They differ significantly from traditional batteries in both mechanism and longevity.

If nuclear fuel is reprocessed, only 3% of the spent fuel goes to waste. The rest can be reused.

Alpha particles have a large mass and slow speeds. They can be stopped easily by paper and air.

‘The China Syndrome’ was a movie about an accident at a nuclear plant and was released just 12 days prior to the Three Mile Island accident.

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.

Companies from across the world are racing to be the first to successfully design and build a Small Modular Reactor.

A reactor pressure vessel is transported in front of the New York skyline.

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

The containment building is the third layer of containment, enclosing the reactor and typically also the primary cooling circuit.