ABSTRACT
A brief history of the main nuclear power plant types, including the reasoning behind fuel, moderator, and coolant choices and their relative advantages and disadvantages, are given in this entry. The three most successful—the pressurized water reactor (PWR), the boiling water reactor (BWR), and the Canadian deuterium uranium (CANDU), as well as a fast reactor—are described in greater detail. Medium-term developments of thermal fission reactors and the long-term possibility of fusion reactors are also described. Nuclear technology and the nuclear fuel cycle are discussed in companion entries.
