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Why don't nuclear power plants explode?
1904, Rutherford speculated the potential of radioactive elements in his classic paper: "If people can control the decay rate of radioactive elements at will, people can get huge energy from a small amount of substances. The discovery of atomic fission made the use of atomic energy a reality. The first is the invention of the atomic bomb, and the second is nuclear energy. This is the official production of the factory: nuclear power is used for military and peace.

Today's nuclear power plants use the principle of nuclear fission to generate electricity. Although the atomic bomb is made by the principle of fission, why doesn't the nuclear power plant explode like an atomic bomb? The striking appearance of a typical nuclear power plant is a large closed structure, with highly sealed reactor vessels and coolant loop pipes, block steam turbine equipment and chimneys, and no chimneys to exhaust the ventilation system of the power plant.

As an example of water-cooled reactor power generation technology, a furnace that "burns" nuclear energy is called a reactor. Pump water into it, then make it flow through uranium-containing fuel (natural uranium or enriched uranium), and then process it into rod, plate or other suitable shapes. The coolant absorbs heat from the reactor and transfers it to the steam turbine.

From there, heat energy is converted into mechanical energy, which is then generated by a generator. Explosive uranium fission requires a certain threshold. In the nuclear reactor, controlled nuclear fission is carried out to keep the fission reaction below the threshold, so the nuclear power plant will not explode like an atomic bomb. Nuclear power plants will not explode like atomic bombs, but violation of operating procedures may cause the reactor to melt and release radioactive materials, leading to radioactive pollution.

For example, 1986 Chernobyl nuclear power plant accident in Soviet Union caused heavy casualties and environmental pollution. The accident of nuclear power plant shows that the nuclear power plant must be operated in strict accordance with scientific operating procedures, so as to benefit mankind and not cause irreparable losses to mankind.