A nuclear reactor is a device in which nuclear chain reactions are initiated, controlled, and sustained at a steady rate.
The most significant use of nuclear reactors is as an energy source for the generation of electrical power and for the power in some ships. This is usually accomplished by methods that involve using heat from the nuclear reaction to power steam turbines.
The physics of operating a nuclear reactor is explained in Nuclear reactor physics.
Just as many conventional thermal power stations generate electricity by harnessing the thermal energy released from burning fossil fuels, nuclear power plants convert the thermal energy released from nuclear fission.
The energy released in the fission process generates heat, some of which can be converted into usable energy. A common method of harnessing this thermal energy is to use it to boil water to produce pressurized steam which will then drive a steam turbine that generates electricity.
