How to Drive a Nuclear Reactor

by Colin Tucker

Have you ever wondered how a nuclear power station works? This lively book will answer that question. It’ll take you on a journey from the science behind nuclear reactors, through their start-up, operation and shutdown. Along the way it covers a bit of the engineering, reactor history, different kinds of reactors and what can go wrong with them. Much of this is seen from the viewpoint of a trainee operator on a Pressurised Water Reactor - the most common type of nuclear reactor in the world.  Colin Tucker has spent the last thirty years keeping reactors safe. Join him on a tour that is the next best thing to driving a nuclear reactor yourself!

Genres: Science, Nonfiction, Physics, Engineering

286 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 25, 2020

Reviews

[Jamie Windebank · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic book for someone such as myself who has recently been offered a job as a reactor operator! This book helped me with my interview and has set me up with some really good knowledge before I begin my training! Couldn't believe a book like this existed to be honest, very niche!

[Megi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I know how to drive a nuclear reactor. Hide your wives.

[Brahm · Rating 4 out of 5]

A neat, niche book that delivers on its title: this book tells you everything* you need to know to run a Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR).

*(not everything - the author says there's years of training. But there's a LOT of detail for the interested layperson and/or nuclear enthusiast)

Prior to reading this book my high-level understanding was nuclear reaction > water > steam > turbine. Tucker gets into all of the ancillary systems that support that process, and the logistics of day-to-day operations, recovering from trips, dealing with serious faults, refuelling, safety systems, chemistry, reliability, synchronizing to the grid, and much more.

Discovered via the Roots of Progress' Best of 2021 blog post.

[Tasauf Islam Tonoy · Rating 5 out of 5]

বই এর নাম : রোড টু ড্রাইভ এ নিউক্লিয়ার রিয়াক্টর। 

লেখক :ইশতিয়াক হোসেন চৌধুরী ; মো: সোলেমান সজীব। 

পার্সনাল রেটিং: ১০।


পারমাণবিক বিদুৎ কেন্দ্র!  নামটা কী কুল না একটা কুল ভাব আসে রিয়াক্টর ফিয়াক্টর, রেডিয়েশন, ইউরেনিয়াম,মেরি কুরি (হুদাই মাথায় আসে), কন্ট্রল রড হ্যান ত্যান নিয়ে বিরাট জটিল একটা জিনিস যা অনেক বিদ্যুৎ উৎপন্ন করে তাই না?  এক মহল একে পরিবেশ বান্ধব বলছে আরেক মহল বলে বিপদজনক!  আবার দেশেও একটা পারমাণবিক বিদুৎ কেন্দ্র বসানো হচ্ছে এতে কারো উৎকন্ঠার শেষ নেই, কারো রাতে ঘুম নেই!  


আবার দেশে পারমাণবিক বিদুৎ কেন্দ্র কী এ নিয়ে যে স্বচ্ছ ধারণার মানুষ ভুরিভুরি তেমন-ও না। যাহোক যদি এই চমৎকার জিনিসটা নিয়ে জানতে চান তাহলে আমি সাজেস্ট করবো "রোড টু ড্রাইভ এ নিউক্লিয়ার রিয়াক্টর " বই-টি বইটি চমৎকার এবং তথ্যবহুল যারা নিউক্লিয়ার রিয়াক্টর নিয়ে পড়া শুরু করতে চান তাদের জন্য অবশ্য পাঠ্য একটা বই বলে মনে করি। প্রথমেই লেখক বেসিক নিউক্লিয়ার ফিজিক্স-এর কন্সেপ্ট থেকে শুরু করে নিয়ে যাবেন পারমাণবিক বিদুৎ কেন্দ্রের প্রত্যেক অংশে অংশে। কতটা সতর্কতার সাহায্যে একটা রিয়াক্টর চালানো হয় তা টের পাবেন এই বই পড়ে।


ইউরেনিয়াম-২৩৮ ভুরিভুরি পাওয়া গেলেও কেনো মাত্র ০.৭% পাওয়া ইউরেনিয়াম-২৩৫ দিয়েই চালানো হয় রিয়াক্টর?  থার্মাল নিউট্রন, ফাস্ট নিউট্রন, ইন্টারমেডিয়েট নিউট্রন এসব-ই বা কী? আবার সাই-ফাই মুভিতে দেখানো নিউক্লিয়ার রিয়াক্টরে কর্কশ গলায় আর লালা বাতি জ্বালিয়ে ক্রিটিকাল, ক্রিটিকাল বলে চিল্লানো পরিস্থিতি কী আসলেই ক্রিটিকাল?!  নাকি স্বাভাবিক অবস্থা হলেই বা কেমন করে? এরকম আরো চমকপ্রদ বিষয়ের উত্তর আছে এই বই-এ। 


নিউক্লিয়ার রিয়াক্টরের প্রাইমারি সার্কিটের রিয়াক্টর প্রেসার ভেসেল, প্রেসারাইজার, স্টিম থেকে শুরু করে সেকেন্ডারি সার্কিট আর যেটাকে পোলাপান রিয়াক্টর মনে করে মানে থাম্বার মতো গেমে টেমে থাকে আর কী কুলিং টাওয়ার সব নিয়ে আলোচনা আছে। কিভাবে চালাবেন একটা রিয়াক্টর, তার কন্ট্রোল প্যালেন থেকে স্টেপ বাই স্টেপ সব বুঝিয়ে দেওয়া আছে। হরেক করম রিয়াক্টরের বর্ননা আরো অনেক কিছু শেষে একটা চ্যাপ্টার আছে যেটার নাম "ক্যান ইউ বিল্ড ইউর ওন রিয়াক্টর " কি আছে এটাতে বলবো না। আরো চমৎকার সব চ্যাপ্টার আছে। সব মিলিয়ে অনেক তথ্যবহুল একটা বই। অন্য একদিন বিস্তারিত রিভিউ দেওয়ার ইচ্ছা আছে। 

[Samantha White · Rating 5 out of 5]

The perfect amount of technicality

and written to a level where I think most people could at least understand the concept of not the intricacies. Several chapters require a concentration to understand some of the physics behind things but never did I feel too lost.
Great book,
I would read more from this author.

[Simon Alford]

Nice story ...

This is a manual on what to do that day you find yourself in the control room of a nuclear reactor, so handy then, and conveniently sized.

I liked this bit ... You couldn't build your own nuclear reactor could you ? well perhaps you shouldn't try, but David Hahn, a Boy Scout tried. He persuaded a smoke detector manufacturer to sell him 100 smoke alarms for a "school project". He then dismantled them to extract the radioactive source - Americium-241, about a microgram in each. This is a long lived radionuclide which emits Alpha particles and Gamma rays. David then increased his stock of Alpha particle generators by scraping radium from old watch faces. A friend then stole some beryllium (highly toxic), and Lo ! you can produce neutrons. The final step was to encase the neutron source in Uranium (ordered from Czechoslovakia) posing as a college professor. He amassed Thorium from hundreds of gas mantles. The intention was then to use the neutrons to convert Thorium 232 to Uranium 233. (can be used as a nuclear fuel and makes a good weapons material)

This took place in his garden shed. In the end he'd constructed a horribly radioactive device contaminating his house and surrounding area with radioactive materials. The clean up cost tens of thousands of dollars.

Don't even think about it.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Hahn He died aged 39 in 2016.

[Pete · Rating 4 out of 5]

How to Drive a Nuclear Reactor (2020) by Colin Tucker is an in depth description of how systems work for a nuclear reactor. Tucker worked with nuclear reactor safety for decades.

Tucker writes the book as though the reader is learning about how to become a nuclear control room operator. The book is primarily about Pressurized Water Reactors (PWR)s. The book initially describes how the core of the reactor about how the reaction is controlled and what criticality is. Tucker goes through how a nuclear reactor is started. The way heat is transferred, the steam generators and how the systems feed in to each other is described.

The book has sections on situations a reactor operator might face. Tucker uses the situations to write about how reactor power can be raised and lowered via different mechanisms. For anyone interested in reactors it’s fascinating reading.

Tucker’s work on safety informs chapters on various safety incidents and there are sections on the Three Mile Island accident, the Chernobyl disaster and Fukashima.

The book also has sections on how other reactor types work. These include Magnox and CANDU reactors.

How to Drive a nuclear reactor is a really good book. Anyone interested in learning more about nuclear reactors should get a lot from the book.

[Becca Godden · Rating 5 out of 5]

This has been a fantastic read. I've spent just under 7 years maintaining and then operating a AGR and have recently made to jump over to a PWR as a reactor operator.

This book has been a great overview for understanding the differences between the two reactor designs while also detailing some of the more tricky concepts making them easier to understand.
I also enjoyed how the author kept tying things back to the history of nuclear, detailing key events that have happened in the past, I appreciate how he's looks at them from a engineering perspective and not focusing on the shock factor.

I've been a big nuclear nerd for years and this book had me raising my eyebrows at some interesting facts I'd hadn't come across before. Overall a great read and something I would recommend to others in the industry or those who are just curious.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you want to understand how a nuclear reactor actually works, then this is the book for you. It’s written for a general audience, however there is enough mathematics in there to satisfy those with more technical backgrounds. Tucker’s writing is informative but never dry; in fact it’s really quite fun. There are some good metaphors using electric kettles and your living room (just read it). Tucker hammers home how incredible it is that 25 tonnes of uranium can meet 3% of the UK’s electricity needs for a year. This book helped me tie together nuclear concepts I had learned piecemeal elsewhere. Colin Tucker is a nuclear safety engineer at Sizewell B in the UK, an amateur bat enthusiast and an all-round nice guy.

[Joseph Bonney · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this detailed description of how a nuclear power plant is run! I’d love to help build one some day, but I definitely have a LOT of school ahead and of me before I get to that point. At least I took a thermodynamics course and several physics courses before reading this.
If America doesn’t build any more nuclear power plants (the most recently built commercial nuclear power plant was just finished earlier this year ~10 years late and $14B over budget, and currently there are no plans to build another), I’m sure I will find something else to do

[Vignesh Rajendiran · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book is mainly about Pressurized Water Reactors (PWR). One of the most common nuclear reactors currently used to produce power. Author goes into all the steps involved in operating PWR's and the physics behind them. The images and explanation in the book helped me to appreciate the scale of the nuclear reactors.

This book would be helpful for beginners to understand the physics behind PWR. But you should be familiar with how a normal power plant operates first. Then the same knowledge can be applied to other types of Nuclear reactors.

[Jurijs · Rating 5 out of 5]

Authors does a remarkable job demystifying how nuclear reactors work, its innerworkings, physics, engineering and chemistry. All without getting into too much details which can push away unprepared reader. To be fair, I do not think that anyone could drive nuclear reactor after reading, but I can spark interest to nuclear energy or just engineering. I'm keeping the book around to give it to my kinds someday.

[Shirley Yong · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is such a treat for anyone interested in nuclear reactors and their operations, specifically pressurized water reactors! It is a fun read providing the reader a taste of nuclear reactor theory, major systems and components associated with a PWR, and how to operate nuclear reactors safely and efficiently. Colin Tucker’s use of conversational tone is phenomenal- capable of engaging any reader regardless of their technical background.

[Angela · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best written popular science books I've read for a long time - very engaging and informative. We will be needing nuclear power for a long time to come, probably more of it rather than less, and this books gives really fascinating insights into how such a power station works. And, of course, how to keep it safe.

[Emanuele Parrinello · Rating 5 out of 5]

Libro scritto con il giusto mix di semplicità e precisione. Senza esigere particolari nozioni di fisica illustra il funzionamento di un rettore ad acqua pressurizzata (il tipo più comune di reattore nucleare) oltre che degli apparati a valle di esso.
Pone infine un confronto opionionato, ma condivisibile, fra il PWR e altre tecnologie nucleari.

[Filippo Dalmonego · Rating 4 out of 5]

Abbastanza approfondito e completo, dà un punto di vista principalmente ingegneristico e ti guida passo passo a "guidare" un reattore nucleare. L'unico difetto vero che ci ho trovato è che praticamente non parla delle scorie.

[Rakib Rahat · Rating 5 out of 5]

বাংলা ভাষায় নিউক্লিয়ার রিঅ্যাক্টর নিয়ে লেখা অসাধারন সংযোজন। আশা করি এমন ডাইভারস বিষয় নিয়ে সামনে আরো বই পাবো। কীভাবে নিউক্লিয়ার পাওয়ার প্ল্যান্ট কাজ করে সেটা খুবই সাবলীল ভাষায় লেখা হয়েছে যারা ক্লাস ৯-১০ এ পড়ে তারাও সহজেই বুঝতে পারবে খুটিনাটি বিষয়গুলি।

[Jacob · Rating 5 out of 5]

Engaging and Accessible

I’d recommend this book to anyone with an interest in nuclear energy generation, especially those willing to tackle a few physics concepts that are a step beyond high school physics.

[David Harestad · Rating 4 out of 5]

Complicated stuff.

[Isaac · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic writing! I have a thing for books on technical topics, but this is the first such book I have read which is GRIPPING. Now I must go back to reading about Small LOCAs...

[Stephen Curran · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book, detailed in places but well worth a read if you have an interest in this area

[Natalia ✧ ⋆⁺₊⋆ · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Ireneusz Książek · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very nice

Very Wellsa written, with necessary simplifications (but without oversimplification).
Some basic Physics and Engineering knowledge can be useful but is not strict requirement.
This book is for everyone who is interested in science and/or energy.

[Dillon · Rating 5 out of 5]

No Mr. Tucker I don't remember the physical concepts that were discussed 50 pages ago, and your reasonable and gentle suggestion of me being able to retain such information is simultaneously enraging and deeply embarrassing.

[Elizabeth Gavin · Rating 5 out of 5]

fucking awesome.