核反应堆是如何工作的?

How does a nuclear reactor work?（核反应堆是如何工作的?）

Nuclear reactors are, fundamentally, large kettles, which are used to heat water to produce enormous amounts of low-carbon electricity. They come in different sizes and shapes, and can be powered by a variety of different fuels.（从根本上说，核反应堆是一个大水壶，用来加热水，产生大量的低碳电力。它们有不同的大小和形状，可以由各种不同的燃料提供动力。）

The Ringhals Nuclear Power Plant, home to four reactors capable of generating 20% of Sweden’s electricity demand (Image: Vattenfall)（Ringhals核电站，拥有四个反应堆，能够产生瑞典20%的电力需求(图片来源:Vattenfall)）

A nuclear reactor is driven by the splitting of atoms, a process called fission, where a particle (a ‘neutron’) is fired at an atom, which then fissions into two smaller atoms and some additional neutrons. Some of the neutrons that are released then hit other atoms, causing them to fission too and release more neutrons. This is called a chain reaction.（核反应堆是由原子分裂驱动的，这个过程被称为裂变，一个粒子(“中子”)向一个原子发射，然后原子分裂成两个更小的原子和一些额外的中子。一些被释放的中子撞击其他原子，导致它们也发生裂变，释放出更多的中子。这叫做链式反应。）

The fissioning of atoms in the chain reaction also releases a large amount of energy as heat. The generated heat is removed from the reactor by a circulating fluid, typically water. This heat can then be used to generate steam, which drives turbines for electricity production. （链式反应中的原子裂变也以热的形式释放出大量的能量。产生的热量通过循环流体(通常是水)从反应堆中除去。这些热量可以用来产生蒸汽，从而驱动涡轮机发电。）

In order to ensure the nuclear reaction takes place at the right speed, reactors have systems that accelerate, slow or shut down the nuclear reaction, and the heat it produces. This is normally done with control rods, which typically are made out of neutron-absorbing materials such as silver and boron.（为了确保核反应以正确的速度进行，反应堆有加速、减缓或关闭核反应及其产生的热量的系统。这通常是用控制棒来完成的，控制棒通常是由吸收中子的材料制成的，比如银和硼。）

Two examples of nuclear fissioning of uranium-235, the most commonly used fuel in nuclear reactors.（铀-235是核反应堆中很常用的燃料，这是两个核裂变的例子。）

Nuclear reactors come in many different shapes and sizes – some use water to cool their cores, whilst others use gas or liquid metal. The most common power reactor types use water, with more than 90% of the world’s reactors being water-based. Further information on the many different types of reactor around the world can be found in the Nuclear Power Reactors section of the Information Library.（核反应堆有许多不同的形状和大小——一些使用水来冷却堆芯，而另一些则使用气体或液态金属。很常见的动力反应堆类型使用水，世界上90%以上的反应堆是水基的。关于世界上许多不同类型的反应堆的进一步信息可以在信息库的核动力反应堆部分找到。）

Nuclear reactors are very reliable at generating electricity, capable of running for 24 hours a day for many months, if not years, without interruption, whatever the weather or season. Additionally, most nuclear reactors can operate for very long periods of time – over 60 years in many cases. In 2019, units 3&4 at the Turkey Point plant in Florida were the first reactors in the world to be licensed for 80 years of operation.（核反应堆在发电方面是非常可靠的，无论天气或季节如何，它都能够连续几个月，甚至几年，每天24小时不间断地运行。此外，大多数核反应堆可以运行很长一段时间——在许多情况下超过60年。2019年，佛罗里达州土耳其角核电站的3号和4号机组是世界上获得80年运营许可的反应堆。）

A reactor being refuelled (Image: Vattenfall)（正在进行燃料补充的反应堆(图片来源:Vattenfall)）

What fuels a reactor?（反应堆的燃料是什么?）A number of different materials can be used to fuel a reactor, but most commonly uranium is used. Uranium is abundant, and can be found in many places around the world, including in the oceans. Other fuels, such as plutonium and thorium, can also be used. （许多不同的材料可以用来为反应堆提供燃料，但很常用的是铀。铀储量丰富，可以在世界上许多地方找到，包括在海洋中。其他燃料，如钚和钍，也可以使用。）

Most of today’s reactors contain several hundred fuel assemblies, each having thousands of small pellets of uranium fuel. A single pellet contains as much energy as there is in one tonne of coal. A typical reactor requires about 27 tonnes of fresh fuel each year. In contrast, a coal power station of a similar size would require more than two-and-a-half million tonnes of coal to produce as much electricity.（今天的大多数反应堆都包含数百个燃料组件，每个组件都有数千个铀燃料小球。一个颗粒所含的能量相当于一吨煤所含的能量。一个典型的反应堆每年需要大约27吨新燃料。相比之下，类似规模的燃煤发电站需要250多万吨煤才能产生同样多的电力。）

Nuclear fuel pellets are not much larger than a sugar cube (Image: Kazatomprom)（核燃料颗粒并不比方糖大多少(图片来源:Kazatomprom)）

How about the waste?那浪费呢？

Like any industry, the nuclear industry generates waste. However, unlike many industries, nuclear power generates very little of it – and fully contains and manages what it does produce. The vast majority of the waste from nuclear power plants is not very radioactive and for many decades has been responsibly managed and disposed of. If nuclear power was used to supply a person’s electricity needs for an entire year, only about 5 grams of highly-radioactive waste would be produced, which is the same weight as a sheet of paper.（像任何工业一样，核工业也会产生废物。然而，与许多工业不同的是，核能产生的放射性物质很少，而且全部控制和管理它所产生的放射性物质。来自核电站的绝大多数废物的放射性不是很强，几十年来一直得到负责任的管理和处置。如果使用核能为一个人提供一整年的电力需求，只会产生大约5克的高放射性废物，相当于一张纸的重量。）

The used fuel which comes out of the reactor can be managed in different ways, including recycling for energy production or direct disposal. As a matter of fact, many countries have been using recycled fuel for decades to partially fuel their reactors.（从反应堆出来的用过的燃料可以用不同的方式管理，包括回收用于能源生产或直接处理。事实上，几十年来，许多国家一直在使用再生燃料为反应堆提供部分燃料。）

Used nuclear fuel awaiting recycling (Image: Rosatom)（等待回收的用过核燃料(图片来源:俄罗斯国家原子能公司)）

PMUC是由法国EDF（法国电力）签发的，关于某个产品或者材料适合在核电站使用的批准证书

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