The front face of the reactor core.
But they are not very easy to come by.
Plutonium-239, on the other hand, does not even exist in nature.
But plutonium-239 can also be produced.
Plutonium-239 has another advantage over uranium.
This allows engineers to build compact nuclear weapons that can be fitted into the nose of a missile.
Plutonium is therefore the fuel of choice in many nuclear power reactors and nuclear weapons.
Building of B Reactor.
There were many farming towns and small settlements along the river, and these were evacuated.
Many native American tribes were also displaced.
This was surrounded by a shield of cast iron and concrete.
Control panel of B Reactor.
B Reactor was turned into a museum.
The towering grid with over two thousand protruding fuel rods (without the fuels) is a humbling sight.
The fuel rods are 13 meters long, but only their tips are visible.
The control room bristles with hundreds of switches, knobs, mechanical gauges and dials.
Throughout the building are many original artifacts from rotary phones and typewriters to rubber masks and gloves.
The cars can be touched and climbed upon.
B Reactor is now part of the Manhattan Project National Historical Park that commemorates the Manhattan Project.
It is also a National Historic Landmark.
Image credit:Frank Fujimoto/Flickr
