breeder reactor
1
8.4
- noun
- /ˈbriːdər ˈriːæktər/
- Specialized
:
reactor reproductor
- Thus, the objective of a breeder reactor is to produce fissionable plutonium at a higher rate than it depletes fissionable uranium.
- fast breeder reactor
If they produce more plutonium than they consume, they are called fast breeder reactors.
- If they produce more plutonium than they consume, they are called fast breeder reactors.
Examples
-
Meanwhile, he introduced the idea of a breeder reactor for civilian power.
Academic text (2006) -
The basis for a breeder reactor is that natural uranium has two isotopes.
Academic text (2007) -
His first work was related to the fast breeder reactor.
Academic text (2007) -
The Japanese have paid a billion dollars for Russian fast breeder reactor plans.
Blog text (11) -
And what if there is never a working breeder reactor?
Blog text (11) -
We have been hearing about breeder reactors being "just around the corner" since the 1950s.
Blog text (32) -
And there isn't actually a working commercial breeder reactor either.
Blog text (11) -
First, there have been many successful breeder reactors, including thorium converters.
Blog text (11) -
In addition, the JCO plant occasionally purifies uranium to be made into fuel for an experimental breeder reactor known as Joyo, which requires fuel enriched to 18.8% 235 U.
Academic text (1999) -
The breeder reactor is designed to produce more fissile material than it consumes during operation.
Surface Forms
Morphology
breeder + reactor
The phrase is transparently compositional: 'breeder' (one that breeds or produces) combined with 'reactor' (a device that produces power via fission) yields a reactor that produces or ‘breeds’ its own fuel. The technical detail that it generates more fissile material than it consumes follows naturally from the sense of 'breeder', so a B1 learner who knows both constituents would likely infer the basic meaning.
Etymology
Breeder reactor comes from the idea of a machine that 'breeds' new fuel: breeder means one that makes more, and reactor is the device where it happens. So a breeder reactor is a reactor that 'makes more fuel than it uses'.