How to Drive a Nuclear Reactor

Colin Tucker has worked in the UK nuclear industry for 30 years, most of that time at Sizewell B power station. He specialises in ‘Nuclear Safety’: the safe running of the reactor, ensuring that the station is always ready to cope with anything that might happen. Over much of his career he has spent time visiting Schools, Clubs and other venues to talk about nuclear power stations – how they work, how they can be kept safe etc. In his spare time he is a bat enthusiast and a guard and signalman on the Ffestiniog Railway.

• One Man and His Dog.- Physics is Phun.- Being Friendly to Neutrons.- Criticality is Not as Bad as it Sounds.- What Makes Nuclear Special?.- The Thing you put your Reactor in.....- Pull the Rods Out and Stand Back.- Watt Power?.- Your Reactor is Stable (Part One).- You've got to do Something with all that Steam....- The Big Red Button.- Your Reactor is Stable (Part Two).- Putting a Spin on it.- Going Up!.- Power, and How to Change it.- Steady Power with Nothin to do?.- It's All About Safety.- What Can Go Wrong (and what you can do about it...).- Smaller isn't Always Easier.- What Else Can Go Wrong?.- When you run out of Oomph.- Other Reactor Designs are Available.-  How to Build your own Reactor.- And there's more....- Conclusion.

“The book is great with the perfect mid-point of useful technical detail and easily understandable explanations. An excellent read for anyone interested in something a bit more in-depth than most popular science books, just so long as you go in with your brain switched on.” (Popular Science, popsciencebooks.blogspot.com, September 7, 2020)“It should be of interest to both general readers wanting to know how a nuclear reactor works, those new to the industry, and specialists wanting a broader overview. … The book is well produced, well written and the author’s enthusiasm and sense of humour come over.” (Nigel Buttery, Nuclear Future, May-June, 2020)