The nuclear reactor at MIT was something that was very interesting to see. It was built in 1958, but upgraded again in 1975. A lot of the speaking was slightly confusing to follow, but I did learn a lot. The reactor itself is only about two feet tall, which is something I did not expect. I would have thought it would have been bigger! This reactor has a two loop cooling system. We learned that without a cooling system, the water could heat up because no heat would be being remove, and the water inside could start to boil which would not be good.
The water used is D2O, heavier for neutron reflection, and graphite is the outer reflection. Enriched U235 VALx metallic fusion is within the reactor as well. The primary loop of the reactor circulates at 2000 gpm while the second loop circulates at 1800 gpm. There are safety channels in the reactor as well, three on the power level and three on the reactor period. While the professor was explaining all of these part of the reactor, he was speaking about the Uranium, and anything higher than that on the periodic table of elements is man made.
One thing he talked a lot about as well was fission and how it works within the reactor. This is when there is splitting throughout the nucleus of atoms. If one neutron falls into the U235, fission is caused, and causes three more neutrons. They continue to multiply while this is happening. The nuclear reactor needs a constant chain reaction, so two of those neutrons must be removed.
When going on the actual tour, it was not what was really expected. Each of us was to wear something that could detect radioactivity, and once we had gone into the reactor it felt weird. It almost looked like a large storage room because there was so much stuff, and so many different buttons and control panels all over the place. We did have a chance to get to try and look into a window of the reactor, but I did not see anything. We got to go into the control room as well. It seems like working in there would be so much responsibility, needing to always be paying attention to what is going on. If anything were to happen, you would have to know what to do. Overall, it was a cool and interesting field trip and I did enjoy it.
