EDF Energy: Inside A Nuclear Reactor

Experience the inside of a nuclear reactor from the size of an atom with virtual reality

Shrink to the size of an atom and journey with us to the core of a nuclear reactor. Using virtual reality and CGI animation you can travel where no one has gone before. Watch how nuclear fission happens inside our power stations and how the energy is then used as steam to turn our turbines – producing electricity for your home.

Within the reactor, we use water to slow down the atoms so we can use neutrons to split them and create fission. This then creates more neutrons that split other atoms from the nucleus. This chain reaction can create 5 billion fissions per pellet, per second, in our reactors. This reaction heats the water to over 300 degrees Celsius, which then flows out of the reactor at 35 mph turning more water into steam to drive our reactor turbine.

All that power just to make a turbine spin? These simple steam-driven turbines generate more than a thousand megawatts of electricity.  That’s roughly enough to power all the houses in Greater Manchester!

Find out more at edfenergy.com/virtual-tours