The nuclear reactions are used to produce heat, which will vaporize the moderator and thus producing some steam. That steam is then used to make turning a dynamo, producing electricity (a nuclear plant can thus be seen as a weird steam machine). The fission reaction produces an energy of 202.8 MeV. The heat capacity of 1 mol of water is 75.385 J/K. 1) How many fission reactions are needed in order to increase the temperature of 1 mol of water from 65 degrees Fahrenheit to 232 degrees Fahrenheit? 2) Deduce from the previous question that one nuclear reaction allows vaporizing several water molecules. 3) What is the consequence of this effect for the total volume of the reactor? Is it mostly filled with fuel or water?

The nuclear reactions are used to produce heat, which will vaporize the moderator and thus producing some steam. That steam is then used to make turning a dynamo, producing electricity (a nuclear plant can thus be seen as a weird steam machine). The fission reaction produces an energy of 202.8 MeV. The heat capacity of 1 mol of water is 75.385 J/K. 1) How many fission reactions are needed in order to increase the temperature of 1 mol of water from 65 degrees Fahrenheit to 232 degrees Fahrenheit? 2) Deduce from the previous question that one nuclear reaction allows vaporizing several water molecules. 3) What is the consequence of this effect for the total volume of the reactor? Is it mostly filled with fuel or water?