Nuclear Reactor

2. Therminology 3. Cycle. ​   4. Setups.  
 * 1) The Nuclear Reactor.
 * The Nuclear Reactor is a block added by IndustrialCraft2. It is a method of generating EU or alternatively Steam, when enabled in the IC2 config file. Nuclear reactors require a significant investment of Copper and preparation. Up to six Reactor Chambers can be added to increase the capacity, thereby expanding the possibility of making power. Depending on your mod pack and the purpose of the reactor a large reactor is not necessarily better or cheaper than several small ones.
 * A newly built nuclear reactor is an empty hull. Nuclear Reactor Components have to be placed into the reactor to render it operational.
 * Reactor Hull
 * The main reactor chamber formed by the Nuclear Reactor itself as well as any attached Reactor Chambers. This is where heat is transferred if not drawn away by a component. Also referred to as the "reactor" or "core", etc.
 * Heat.
 * Heat is produced by the Uranium Cells in a reactor. Every tick, the cells will produce heat proportional to the number of cells and Neutron Reflectors next to them. Therefore, placing more cells close together will generate more heat, as will Dual and Quad Uranium Cells.
 * Cool-Down Period
 * The amount of time it takes an inactive reactor to return to a hull temperature of 0 by dissipating the excess heat that it has collected.
 * Tick
 * Not to be confused with EU ticks, the reactor tick occurs every second. Power and heat output are calculated once every reactor tick, or every second.
 * Pulse.
 * Pulses are produced by Uranium Cells in an active Nuclear Reactor once per tick, generating heat and energy. Additional pulses may occur per cell if there are additional cells or Neutron Reflectors next to one another, generating more energy and improved efficiency.
 * A cycle is defined by the amount of time that it takes for one set of new Uranium Cells to deplete inside of a functioning Nuclear Reactor. This is equal to 2 hours 47 minutes and 38 seconds real-time.
 * The arrangement of components in the Nuclear Reactor GUI. Reactor design determines whether a reactor is an effective power generator or an explosion hazard.
 * Depending on the purpose of the reactor and its operating conditions it falls into a set of pre-defined categories. More information about catagorising Nuclear Reactors can be found here.
 * The simplest reactor consists of a single Uranium Cell placed directly next to a Heat Vent. This will produce 5 EU/t when a redstone current is applied to the reactor. The cell and vent must be adjacent horizontally or vertically; if placed on a diagonal, the vent will not cool the cell and the reactor will heat up and explode. In this basic reactor design, the uranium cell produces 4 units of heat per tick. The heat vent will transfer up to 6 units of heat from surrounding components and since the uranium cell produces less than 6 units of heat per tick, it will be effectively cooled by the single heat vent.
 * While a single uranium cell produces only 5 EU/t, it will produce 1 million EU over its 2 hour 47 minute lifetime. Placing an additional uranium cell in the reactor, next to the first, will quadruple the energy output of the reactor without decreasing the lifetime of the fuel cells, although it will produce more heat. The addition of Dual and Quad Uranium Cells can further increase energy output and efficiency, again at the expense of increased heat.