Uranium Consumption Simulator

Adjust the thermal power of a nuclear reactor to simulate Uranium-235 consumption and visually experience the scale of nuclear fission.

Nuclear Fission and Energy

Nuclear power plants harness the immense energy released when fissile materials like Uranium-235 undergo nuclear fission. When a single Uranium-235 atom fissions, it releases approximately 200 MeV of energy. This energy is converted into heat, which is then used to generate electricity.

Calculation Principle

This simulator calculates uranium consumption based on the following principles:

Energy Conversion: Reactor thermal power (MW) is converted to energy per second (J/s). ($1 \text{ MW} = 10^6 \text{ J/s}$)
Fission Count Calculation: The total energy (J/s) is divided by the energy per fission of a single Uranium-235 atom (J/fission) to calculate the number of fissions required per second.
Mass Conversion: The number of fissions per second is multiplied by the mass of a single Uranium-235 atom to calculate the mass of uranium consumed per second. (Mass of 1 Uranium-235 atom $\approx 3.902 \times 10^{-22} \text{ g}$)

The main formulas are as follows:

$\text{Fissions per second} = \frac{\text{Thermal Power (J/s)}}{\text{Energy per Fission (J)}}$
$\text{Mass per second (g/s)} = \text{Fissions per second} \times \text{Mass of 1 U-235 atom (g)}$
$\text{Mass per day (g/day)} = \text{Mass per second (g/s)} \times 86400 \text{ (s/day)}$

Through this simulator, you can intuitively understand how much uranium is consumed as reactor power increases.

Important Note

This simulation is a simplified model designed to help the general public easily understand the complex aspects of actual reactor operation, such as fission energy conversion efficiency, fuel burnup, and the effects of fission products. Actual uranium consumption in a nuclear reactor involves more complex calculations.

Reactor Uranium Consumption Simulator ⚛️

Nuclear Fission and Energy

Calculation Principle

Important Note