Nuclear chain reactions within power plants do not produce bomb-like explosions primarily because the

the difference in its enrichment

Explanation:

    Although both the atomic bomb and nuclear reactor can use uranium fission to produce heat, the base material has differences. We explain to you what uranium enrichment is.

   The difference is in enrichment. Not all uranium extracted in nature has the characteristics that allow it to produce energy, either to convert to electricity or to explode a bomb. Therefore it is necessary to concentrate the type of uranium most favorable to this reaction, that is, to enrich it.

    Uranium is a heavy chemical element with 92 protons in its nucleus but with a varying number of neutrons. Each uranium atom that has a different number of neutrons is an isotope - the most common are uranium-238, with 146 neutrons in the nucleus, and uranium-235, with 143 neutrons. And it is this isotope of uranium, 235, that is most interested in nuclear reactions because it is more unstable.

    Of the uranium that is taken from nature, only about 0.7% is uranium-235. Enrichment implies that uranium-238 is separated and that the proportion of uranium-235 in a sample is increased. If the goal is to produce electricity, the proportion of uranium-235 need not exceed 5%, for scientific research reactors it should be close to 20%, but to produce nuclear weapons uranium must be enriched at least 90%.

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