Boiling Water Reactor

The boiling water reactor is a type of nuclear reactor used for the production of electrical power. This type of reactor was developed in the mid-1950s. The reactor core produces heat. Very pure water moves through the core and absorbs heat, which turns water to a steam-water mixture. The steam-water mixture leaves the top of the core and then drives through the steam line to the steam turbine. The turbine has many hundreds of blades that are turned. When the steam hits the blades they spin the turbine's shaft that is attached to the bottom of the blades. The energy produced from the shaft rotation is collected by a generator which converts the motion to electrical energy using a magnetic field. The unused steam is exhausted to the condenser. It is condensed into water there. This water is pumped out of the condenser with a series of pumps. It is reheated and pumped back to the reactor vessel. The reactor's core contains fuel assemblies that are cooled by circulating water. The boiling water reactor was also used in the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. The plant suffered major damage from the magnitude 9.0 earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan on March 11, 2011.