Decay and fission. You see ‘nuclear’ materials naturally shed neutrons over time in order to get to a lower energy state. The problem is when certain high energy elements get hit by neutrons, they put out two neutrons in response; both of these actions put out heat. The latter puts out a lot of heat.
The goal of (nearly) any nuclear power plant is to induce this run away effect (the neutron hitting an element and producing two neutrons) in a controlled manner to increase the amount of waste heat from the reaction. The waste heat is then transferred to a intermediary medium, and then to water to make steam, which pushes the same type of turbine that any non-solar power plant has.
Decay and fission. You see ‘nuclear’ materials naturally shed neutrons over time in order to get to a lower energy state. The problem is when certain high energy elements get hit by neutrons, they put out two neutrons in response; both of these actions put out heat. The latter puts out a lot of heat.
The goal of (nearly) any nuclear power plant is to induce this run away effect (the neutron hitting an element and producing two neutrons) in a controlled manner to increase the amount of waste heat from the reaction. The waste heat is then transferred to a intermediary medium, and then to water to make steam, which pushes the same type of turbine that any non-solar power plant has.