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How nuclear energy actually works — from the physics of a single fission to the economics of the AI demand wave. Every page ends with “See it live” links into the map, so the theory is anchored to real, current data.

1. 01Atoms, Isotopes, and Where the Energy Comes FromWhy splitting one heavy nucleus releases a million times more energy than burning one molecule of anything.
2. 02Chain Reactions, Criticality, and ControlHow a reactor holds an exponential process perfectly steady for months at a time — and why "critical" means "normal," not "emergency."
3. 03From Heat to Grid: Anatomy of a Nuclear PlantA nuclear plant is a steam engine with an exotic boiler — here's the full path from fission to your wall outlet.
4. 04PWRs, BWRs, and the US FleetTwo designs power America — one boils water in a separate loop, one boils it right in the core. Here's how to tell them apart and why it matters.
5. 05Capacity Factor: The Most Important Number in EnergyNameplate capacity tells you what a plant could do; capacity factor tells you what it actually did. Nuclear's ~93% is the highest of any source — here's what that means and how this site computes it.
6. 06Refueling Outages and the Rhythm of OperationsEvery 18–24 months, a reactor shuts down for a month of choreographed around-the-clock work. The map's history charts make the whole fleet's rhythm visible.
7. 07The Fuel Cycle: From Mine to ReactorUranium ore is dug on three continents, converted, spun in centrifuges, and baked into ceramic — and the US imports nearly all of it. The map's fuel-cycle layer shows every domestic link in the chain.
8. 08Safety: Defense in Depth, Radiation, and the Three Accidents Everyone Asks AboutHow reactors are engineered to fail safely, what radiation doses actually mean, and an honest accounting of Three Mile Island, Chernobyl, and Fukushima.
9. 09Spent Fuel and Waste: The Honest PictureSmall in volume, long in lifetime, currently parked in concrete casks at every plant: what nuclear waste actually is, and what the US has and hasn't done about it.
10. 10SMRs and Advanced Reactors: What's Actually Being BuiltSodium, helium, molten salt, and factory-built modules — a field guide to the next generation, keyed to the blue diamonds on the map.
11. 11Who Says Yes: The NRC and the Licensing GauntletAn independent agency licenses every reactor, inspects every plant daily, and publishes the data this map runs on. Here's how the process works and why it's changing.
12. 12The Economics: Costs, PPAs, and Why AI Changed EverythingNuclear's brutal capital costs, its unbeatable operating profile, and the demand shock that turned tech companies into the industry's most important customers.