Question

(a) What is a nuclear reactor? What is the fuel used in a nuclear reactor?
(b) What type of nuclear reaction is carried out in a nuclear reactor?
(c) How is the working nuclear reactor of a power plant shut down in an emergency?
​(d) Name five places in India where nuclear power plants are located.

Answer 1

(a) A nuclear reactor is a device used to initiate and control a self-sustained nuclear chain reaction. Nuclear reactors are mainly used at nuclear power plants to produce electricity. The fuel used in a nuclear reactor is commonly known as nuclear fuel. The most common nuclear fuels are radioactive metals uranium-235 and plutonium-239.

(b) Nuclear fission reactions are carried out in a nuclear reactor.

(c) In case of an emergency, the control rods are fully inserted in the reactor. They absorb all the neutrons responsible for the chain reaction, which helps in shutting down the reactor.

(d) Five places in India where nuclear power plants are located are as follows:

(i) Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant - Tamil Nadu.
(ii) Tarapur Nuclear Reactor - Maharashtra.
(iii) Rajasthan Atomic Power Plant - Rajasthan.
(iv) Kaiga Atomic Power Plant - Karnataka.
(v) Narora Nuclear Reactor - Uttar Pradesh.