What are tomicreactors

It is fissionable, and so can be used in atomic bombs. Plutonium is produced in what is called a reactor. This is a kind of tank, filled with U-235. The U-235 is fissioned at a slow rate so that it w ill not explode. The neutrons that do the fissioning are slowed dow n by moderators.

These are bricks made of a substance, such as graphite, that will slow down the neutrons and help them to hit nearby atoms and split them. Rods of cadmium, boron or other material that will absorb neutrons are thrust into the mass of U-235, and the more rods are used, the slower the chain reaction will be. The slow fissioning of U-235 produces not only plutonium but also several hundred other substances. During the war, these by-products were throw n away. After the war, the Atomic Energy Commission was set up to direct the work of the plants and to seek peacetime uses for atomic energy. The by-products began to be saved and analysed. Many of them have turned out to have great value in medicine, industry, and agriculture.