What Types of Nuclear Reactors Exist?
Nuclear reactors can be classified in several different ways: by the type of nuclear reaction, the moderator material used, coolant used, generation of the reactor, fuel phase, fuel type, and use. Counting research reactors, thousands exist worldwide, falling into many different categories. In this article I’ll go over the classification schemes of nuclear reactors one at a time. In this article we are only looking at fission nuclear reactors, that is, reactors that break apart nuclei, rather than fusion reactors, which fuse them together. Fusion reactors are still a highly experimental technology in the early development stages, while fission reactors have been in use for over 60 years. The type of nuclear reaction generally refers to whether the nuclear reactor uses slow (thermal) neutrons or fast neutrons. Most reactors employing fast neutrons fall into the fast breeder reactor category, while most using slow neutrons are called thermal reactors. Thermal reactors are the cheapest an
