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<h2>Cooling</h2> <p>When it is operating, the NRU reactor makes more than 100 million watts of power. Compare that to an ordinary light bulb that uses 100 watts. The power from the fission reaction in NRU heats up the fuel. That is why the reactor needs to be cooled. The heavy water that is in the core to moderate the neutrons, is being continuously pumped around eight loops, where it is cooled and returned to the core. The heavy water itself is very expensive so it never leaves NRU. It is cooled by river water that is returned to the river. This situation is like cooling a car engine with a radiator. The engine's coolant goes round in a closed loop, but air from outside is taken in to cool the radiator and then blown back outside the car again.</p> <p>Because NRU does not generate steam to make electricity, it does not get very hot. The heavy water in NRU does not boil, it warms up to about 60°C and then cools to 30°C again.</p>
