Uranium for nuclear reactors is enriched from its natural 0.7% uranium-235 state to 3-5% for commercial power generation.

The RBMK reactor design involved in the Chernobyl disaster had a fatal flaw - its core could become more reactive when cooling water was lost, the opposite of most reactor designs. This "positive void coefficient" contributed significantly to the disaster's severity. The Soviet-designed RBMK (whi...

Without control rods, nuclear reactors could experience dangerous runaway chain reactions. These rods, typically made of neutron-absorbing materials like boron, cadmium, or hafnium, act like the brakes of a nuclear reactor.