Explore Nuclear

The primary cooling circuit of Pressurised Water Reactors is under extreme pressure requiring very thick and sturdy pipework.

A number of uranium cubes produced during the Manhattan Project. 

Our ‘Music’ page lets you enjoy a tumultuous collection of nuclear themed songs which tend to err on the sillier side.

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.

Enriched uranium can be handled by hand. The main danger is not the radiation, but the possibility of heavy metal poisoning.

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

Uranium is not the only nuclear fuel. Other fissile elements like Plutonium or even fuel mixtures can be used for energy generation.

Our ‘Journeys through Nuclear’ section makes it easy to learn about nuclear using a simple to follow, step-by-step format.

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.

Otto Hahn and Lise Meitner are two of the four scientists credited with discovering fission in December of 1938.

Radioactive waste is stored in many ways. Some Low-Level Waste requires less shielding and containment and can be stored in standard barrels.

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

Uranium can be used to stain glass, resulting in a yellow or green colour, as well as glowing bright green under UV light.

Calder Hall was the world’s first full-scale nuclear power station when it was opened by Queen Elizabeth II in 1956.

Gas centrifuges are a common way of enriching uranium. To achieve this, the devices must spin at over 50000 rotations per minute.

The energy released during a fission reaction comes from mass being turned into energy.

Fuel cladding is the first layer of containment and performs the crucial job of retaining highly radioactive fission products.

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

Massive generators are mounted in huge concrete structures. The turbines driving the generators are located one level above.

Atoms with the same number of protons but varying number of neutrons are known as isotopes.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is the world’s central intergovernmental forum for cooperation in the nuclear field.

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

A worker inspects the reactor loading face. 

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

Russia uses huge nuclear-powered ice breakers to navigate the Northern Sea Route.

Magnox reactors were some of the world’s first commercial nuclear reactors. The name “Magnox” comes from the magnesium-aluminium alloy (Magnesium Non-Oxidising) used to clad the natural uranium fuel rods.

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

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

Workers observe instruments in the main control room.

The Gilbert Lab was a children’s toy which featured real uranium ore and various radiation detectors.