The NS Savannah was the world’s first civilian ship powered by a nuclear reactor.

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.

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

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

Natural draft towers make up the vast majority of cooling towers used at nuclear power stations. They rely on the natural buoyancy of hot air to create a continuous airflow without the need for mechanical assistance.

To prevent the unwanted movement of radioactive contamination, portable surface contamination meters are used to monitor people and objects as they leave controlled areas.

‘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.

Enrico Fermi lead an experiment on the 2nd of December 1942, initiating the first human-made self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction.

Wilhelm Röntgen took the world’s first medical X-Ray on the 22nd of December 1895. Shown is his wife’s hand, wearing a ring.

Space craft can be powered using radioactive materials. NASA has flown more than 25 missions carrying a nuclear power system.

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

This cross-sectional cut of a nuclear waste container reveals how spent nuclear fuel assemblies are stored. The wall of the container includes radiation absorbing material and the exterior is covered with heat fins.

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

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

Steam generators are stored on their side prior to installation.

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

Americium-241 is used as a sealed alpha-emitting source in smoke detectors.

Las Vegas, nicknamed the ‘Atomic City’, became a hotspot for ‘Atomic Tourism’ during the 1950s. Tourists flocked to the city to watch atomic weapons tests.

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

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

In December 1903, Pierre Curie, Marie Curie, and Henri Becquerel were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for their joint research on radiation.

Various well known automotive manufacturers created concepts for nuclear-powered cars.

Two workers are moving a set of canisters which contain fuel elements. A reactor building can be seen in the background, along with several steam generators.

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.

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

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

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

A series of equipment is used to control the steam as energy is extracted from it. The steam eventually turns back into liquid water and is returned to the boilers.

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

At 05:29:21 MWT on the 16th of July 1945 the world’s first nuclear weapon was detonated by the United States.