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atomic pile see "nuclear reactor."
boron carbide a very hard black crystalline compound used in nuclear reactor control rods, as reinforcement in structural materials, and as an abrasive.
breeder see "breeder reactor." [1/3 definitions]
breeder reactor a nuclear reactor that is designed to produce more fissionable material than it consumes, and thus generate additional fuel for its own operation.
containment structure the building in which a commercial nuclear reactor is housed.
control rod a rod or bar in a nuclear reactor that contains a neutron-absorbing material, and that is lowered into or raised from the core to control the fission chain reaction.
converter reactor a nuclear reactor that produces less, or a different kind of, fissionable material than it consumes. (Cf. breeder reactor.)
hafnium a chemical element that has seventy-two protons in each nucleus and that occurs as a tetravalent metal often found in combination with zirconium, used in pure form for applications such as nuclear reactor control rods because it absorbs neutrons well. (symbol: Hf)
hyperreactor combined form of reactor.
meltdown an accident in a nuclear reactor in which the radioactive core melts because of insufficient cooling, leading to the escape of radiation.
pile1 the part of a nuclear reactor in which fission takes place. [1/7 definitions]
pyrophoric of certain metals, capable of igniting spontaneously in air or within a nuclear reactor.
reactor in physics, an apparatus for starting and controlling a nuclear chain reaction; nuclear reactor. [1/2 definitions]
subcritical of a nuclear reactor or device, unable to sustain a fission chain reaction. [1/2 definitions]