Difference between revisions of "Nuclear Reactor"

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(→‎Efficiency: Added a formula that can be used to compute the heat per second of a uranium cell given the efficiency.)
m (→‎Planner: old reactor planner site down, updated link with current version on github)
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|tool=bwrench
|tool=bwrench
|stackable=Yes (64)
|stackable=Yes (64)
|optime=20000(5:33:20)
|eu_produce=5-6960
|eu_op=2,000,000(2M)-1680M
}}
}}
The [[Nuclear Reactor]] is a generator that produces [[EU]] by slowly breaking down refined [[Uranium Cell]]s. As cells decay inside the reactor they produce heat. Heat may be removed by cooling methods. If cooling is insufficient, the reactor will gradually overheat and eventually explode, violently.


Copper [[cable]] is sufficient for basic reactors, advanced reactors will require gold or even HV cable.
The '''Nuclear Reactor''' is a generator that produces [[EU]] by slowly breaking down {{Gin|Uranium Cell}}s. As cells decay inside the reactor, they produce heat. Heat may be removed by several different cooling methods. If cooling is insufficient, the reactor will gradually overheat and eventually explode.


Each cell will last 10,000 seconds (~2h 47min) inside the reactor, providing at least 5EU/t power (at least 1 million EU per cell).  A very efficient setup can give more than 73 million EU per uranium ore.
Copper Cable is sufficient for basic reactors, but advanced reactors will require Gold or HV Cable.


You can enlarge the space of your reactor by placing up to 6 additional [[Reactor Chamber]]s directly adjacent to the reactor.
Each Uranium Cell will last 1 reactor cycle (20,000 seconds, ~5h 33min) inside the reactor, providing at least 5 EU/t power (at least 2 million EU per cell). A very efficient setup can give more than 32 million EU per uranium Cell.


With '''IndustrialCraft²''', the reactor system is fully recoded! Instead of lame [[Uranium]] refining, you now have to make a good setup for your reactor with all the reactor stuff you can find in the navigation. But one thing wasn't completely changed: nuclear meltdowns!
You can enlarge the space of your reactor by placing up to 6 additional {{Gin|Reactor Chamber}}s directly adjacent to the reactor.


As of Minecraft 1.3.2 '''IndustrialCraft²''' has had a second re-write of the Nuclear Reactor with additional components and removed environmental effects such as water and Ice cooling.
With ''IndustrialCraft<sup>2</sup>'', the reactor system is fully recoded! Instead of lame Uranium refining, you now have to make a good setup for your reactor with all the reactor stuff you can find in the navigation. But one thing wasn't completely changed: nuclear meltdowns!
 
As of ''Minecraft 1.3.2'', ''IndustrialCraft<sup>2</sup>'' has had a second re-write of the Nuclear Reactor with additional components and removed environmental effects such as water and Ice cooling.
For old mechanics and tips, see [[Old_Reactor_Mechanics_and_Components]].


<span class="pops">[http://forum.industrial-craft.net/index.php?page=Thread&postID=74761#post74761 Helpful forum post]</span>
<span class="pops">[http://forum.industrial-craft.net/index.php?page=Thread&postID=74761#post74761 Helpful forum post]</span>


 
== Recipe ==
<span class="mw-headline" style="font-size: 14pt" id="Recipe">Recipe</span>
=== Experimental v2.x ===
----
{|
{|
|{{Grid/Crafting Table
|{{Grid/Crafting Table
|B1=Advanced Circuit
|B1=Lead Plate
|A2=Lead Plate|B2=Machine|C2=Lead Plate
|B3=Lead Plate
|Output=Reactor Chamber
}}
|{{Grid/Crafting Table
|A1=Dense Lead Plate|B1=Advanced Circuit|C1=Dense Lead Plate
|A2=Reactor Chamber|B2=Reactor Chamber|C2=Reactor Chamber
|A2=Reactor Chamber|B2=Reactor Chamber|C2=Reactor Chamber
|B3=Generator
|A3=Dense Lead Plate|B3=Generator|C3=Dense Lead Plate
|Output=Nuclear Reactor
|Output=Nuclear Reactor
}}
}}
|}
=== IndustrialCraft v1.106 ===
{|
|{{Grid/Crafting Table
|{{Grid/Crafting Table
|B1=Dense Copper Plate
|B1=Dense Copper Plate
Line 38: Line 52:
|B3=Dense Copper Plate
|B3=Dense Copper Plate
|Output=Reactor Chamber
|Output=Reactor Chamber
}}
|{{Grid/Crafting Table
|B1=Advanced Circuit
|A2=Reactor Chamber|B2=Reactor Chamber|C2=Reactor Chamber
|B3=Generator
|Output=Nuclear Reactor
}}
}}
|}
|}


 
=== IndustrialCraft v0.90 ===
<span class="mw-headline" style="font-size: 14pt" id="Usage">Usage</span>
{|
----
|{{Grid/Crafting Table
Reactors are complex and not for the faint of heart. A bad design can suddenly replace your house with a nice new crater.
|B1=Copper
|A2=Copper |B2=Advanced Alloy |C2=Copper
|B3=Copper
|Output=Integrated Reactor Plating
}}
|{{Grid/Crafting Table
|A1=Copper |B1=Advanced Circuit |C1=Copper
|A2=Cooling Cell |B2=Integrated Reactor Plating |C2=Cooling Cell
|Output=Integrated Heat Disperser
}}
|-
|{{Grid/Crafting Table
|A1=Advanced Alloy|B1=Integrated Heat Dispenser|C1=Advanced Alloy
|A2=Integrated Reactor Plating|B2=Machine|C2=Integrated Reactor Plating
|A3=Advanced Alloy|B3=Integrated Reactor Plating|C3=Advanced Alloy
|Output=Reactor Chamber
}}
|{{Grid/Crafting Table
|A1=Advanced Alloy|B1=Advanced Circuit|C1=Advanced Alloy
|A2=Reactor Chamber|B2=Generator|C2=Reactor Chamber
|A3=Advanced Alloy|B3=Advanced Circuit|C3=Advanced Alloy
|Output=Nuclear Reactor
}}
|}


__TOC__
__TOC__


=Basic Reactor Setup=
= Basic Reactor Setup =
Once you have your reactor, you want to get some power out of it.  The nuclear reactor acts like a chest.  Place the right components in the reactor in the right locations, and voila -- nearly free energy!  Place the wrong components or in the wrong locations, and BOOM!
Once you have your reactor, you want to get some power out of it.  The nuclear reactor acts like a chest.  Place the right components in the reactor in the right locations, and voila -- nearly free energy!  Place the wrong components or in the wrong locations, and BOOM!


The simplest reactor contains one [[Uranium Cell]] and one [[Heat Vent]].
The simplest reactor contains one [[Uranium Cell]] and one [[Heat Vent]]. Turned on and off with a lever switch. ''As of IC2: Experimental, any setup of this nature is referred to as "EU MODE" in the Reactor's UI which also states that the output is being reduced by half. This is intentional, as there are now two operating modes for a reactor, the second "HEATING MODE" being dependent on surrounding the reactor proper with other certain blocks. Heating mode uses Reactor Pressure Vessels to heat [[Coolant]] into [[Hot Coolant]], which can then be used to generate EU.''''
{{Grid/Reactor
{{Grid/Reactor
|A1=Uranium Cell|A2=Heat Vent}}
|A1=Uranium Cell|A2=Heat Vent}}


If you apply a redstone signal with a lever, this reactor will produce 5 EU/t.  It will also generate 4 heat per second into the heat vent, and the heat vent will try to dissipate 6 units heat, only find 4, and dissipate that.  Which brings us to a key concept in reactor design: heat.
If you apply a lever ON/OFF switch, this reactor will produce 5 EU/t.  It will also generate 4 heat per second into the heat vent, and the heat vent will try to dissipate 6 units heat, only find 4, and dissipate that.  Which brings us to a key concept in reactor design: heat.


Heat is generated every second by any uranium cell which is generating EU.  It can either go into a component (such as the heat vent) or into the reactor vessel itself.  If too much accumulates in a component, that component is destroyed.  If too much accumulates in the reactor, the reactor will start doing Bad Things, such as poisoning players in the area, or exploding violently.  Heat is bad.  Fortunately, there are many tools to help you deal with heat.
Heat is generated every second by any uranium cell which is generating EU.  It can either go into a component (such as the heat vent) or into the reactor vessel itself.  If too much accumulates in a component, that component is destroyed.  If too much accumulates in the reactor, the reactor will start doing Bad Things, such as poisoning players in the area, or exploding violently.  Heat is bad.  Fortunately, there are many tools to help you deal with heat.
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;[[File:Grid_Heat_Exchanger.png]] [[Heat Exchanger]]: These will first exchange up to 12 heat with each surrounding component, and then up to 4 with the reactor itself.
;[[File:Grid_Heat_Exchanger.png]] [[Heat Exchanger]]: These will first exchange up to 12 heat with each surrounding component, and then up to 4 with the reactor itself.
;[[File:Grid_Advanced_Heat_Exchanger.png]] [[Advanced Heat Exchanger]]: These transfer up to 24 heat with each surrounding component, and then up to 8 with the reactor.
;[[File:Grid_Advanced_Heat_Exchanger.png]] [[Advanced Heat Exchanger]]: These transfer up to 24 heat with each surrounding component, and then up to 8 with the reactor.
;[[File:Grid_Core_Heat_Exchanger.png]] [[Core Heat Exchanger]]: These transfer up to 72 heat with the reactor, put will not move heat to or from nearby components.  These will usually be at the same percent capacity as the reactor, so they are useful as a kind of thermometer for your reactor.
;[[File:Grid_Core_Heat_Exchanger.png]] [[Reactor Heat Exchanger]]: These transfer up to 72 heat with the reactor, but will not move heat to or from nearby components.  These will usually be at the same percent capacity as the reactor, so they are useful as a kind of thermometer for your reactor.
;[[File:Grid_Component_Heat_Exchanger.png]] [[Component Heat Exchanger]]: These transfer up to 36 heat with each adjacent component, but does not transfer any with the reactor itself.
;[[File:Grid_Component_Heat_Exchanger.png]] [[Component Heat Exchanger]]: These transfer up to 36 heat with each adjacent component, but does not transfer any with the reactor itself.


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| [[Heat Exchanger]] || 12 || 4 || 2500
| [[Heat Exchanger]] || 12 || 4 || 2500
|-
|-
| [[Advanced Heat Exchanger]] || 24 || 8 || 5000
| [[Advanced Heat Exchanger]] || 24 || 8 || 10000
|-
|-
| [[Core Heat Exchanger]] || 0 || 72 || 2500
| [[Reactor Heat Exchanger]] || 0 || 72 || 5000
|-
|-
| [[Component Heat Exchanger]] || 24 || 0 || 2500
| [[Component Heat Exchanger]] || 36 || 0 || 5000
|}
|}


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The efficiency of a cell is how many times over it produces 5 EU/t.  In the previous example, the efficiency of the cells was 2, because each cell produced 10 EU/t = 2 * 5 EU/t.
The efficiency of a cell is how many times over it produces 5 EU/t.  In the previous example, the efficiency of the cells was 2, because each cell produced 10 EU/t = 2 * 5 EU/t.


But this efficiency comes at a cost in heat.  Uranium cells which produce more energy generate more heat. Each uranium cell will produce 2 * efficiency * (efficiency + 1) heat per second. Here efficiency is the efficiency of the overall cell, not the overall efficiency of the reactor setup.
But this efficiency comes at a cost in heat.  Uranium cells which produce more energy generate more heat. The heat to be generated is calculated by the following formula:
<div class="toc"><sup>heat</sup>/<sub>second</sub> = <div style="display: inline-block; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; letter-spacing: 0.001em; text-align: center;"><span style="display: block; padding:0.1em;"><i>n</i>(<i>n</i>+1)</span><span style="display: none; padding:0.1em;">/</span></div> &times; 2; where <i>n</i> is the efficiency (or number of adjacent components which send neutron pulses)</div>
Here, n is the efficiency of the cell, not the efficiency of the reactor setup.


{| class="wikitable"
{| class="wikitable"
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|-
|-
|17 || 612 || 36
|17 || 612 || 36
|}
[[EU]] / tick
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! !! {{Gin|Uranium Cell}} !! {{Gin|Dual Uranium Cell}} !! {{Gin|Quad Uranium Cell}}
|-
| reflections 0 || 5 || 20 || 60
|-
| reflections 1 || 10 || 30 || 80
|-
| reflections 2 || 15 || 40 || 100
|-
| reflections 3 || 20 || 50 || 120
|-
| reflections 4 || 25 || 60 || 140
|}
[[HU]] (Heat) / tick
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! !! {{Gin|Uranium Cell}} !! {{Gin|Dual Uranium Cell}} !! {{Gin|Quad Uranium Cell}}
|-
| reflections 0 || 4 || 24 || 96
|-
| reflections 1 || 12 || 48 || 160
|-
| reflections 2 || 24 || 80 || 240
|-
| reflections 3 || 40 || 120 || 336
|-
| reflections 4 || 60 || 168 || 448
|}
|}


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The [[Quad Uranium Cell]] is similar, but considered four uranium cells in a square, in one component.  It thus generates 60 EU/t, and 96 heat if alone.  These components allow efficiencies as high as 17, but normally won't exceed 7.
The [[Quad Uranium Cell]] is similar, but considered four uranium cells in a square, in one component.  It thus generates 60 EU/t, and 96 heat if alone.  These components allow efficiencies as high as 17, but normally won't exceed 7.


''Bug'': In version 1.106, the dual/quad cells last 1/2 or 1/4 as long as they should (10 000 s).
''Bug'': In version 1.106, the dual/quad cells last 1/2 or 1/4 as long as they should (20 000 s).


===Reflectors===
===Reflectors===
Another important tool for increased efficiency is the [[Neutron Reflector]] and the [[Thick Neutron Reflector]].  Both of these reflect neutron pulses back to the uranium cell which produced them.  This means that a single uranium cell surrounded by 4 neutron reflectors will receive 4 neutron pulses, and so have an efficiency of 5. Quad Uranium cells will output 80 EU/t instead of 60 EU/t. Dual Uranium cells will output 30 EU/t instead of 20 EU/t. One Uranium cell will output 10 EU/t instead of 5 EU/t.
Another important tool for increased efficiency is the [[Neutron Reflector]] and the [[Thick Neutron Reflector]].  Both of these reflect neutron pulses back to the uranium cell which produced them.  This means that a single uranium cell surrounded by 4 neutron reflectors will receive 4 neutron pulses, and so have an efficiency of 5. Quad Uranium cells will output 80 EU/t instead of 60 EU/t. Dual Uranium cells will output 30 EU/t instead of 20 EU/t. One Uranium cell will output 10 EU/t instead of 5 EU/t.


A disadvantage of these reflectors is that they wear out over time.  The neutron reflector can reflect 10 000 pulses (one complete cycle from one uranium cell).  The thick neutron reflector is more durable, allowing it to reflect 40 000 pulses before failure.
A disadvantage of these reflectors is that they wear out over time.  The neutron reflector can reflect 20 000 pulses (one complete cycle from one uranium cell).  The thick neutron reflector is more durable, allowing it to reflect 120 000 pulses before failure.


=Breeder reactors=
=EU Reactor=
To get the most out of your ore, you'll want to produce a uranium cell from a [[Depleted Isotope Cell]] rather than directly from a [[ Uranium Fuel Ingot ]].  Not only can you craft eight depleted cells from one fuel ingot, but you will also receive a [[Near-Depleted Uranium Cell]] 25% of the time when a uranium cell is used up.  This can be easily crafted into a depleted isotope cell.
{{Gin|Nuclear Reactor}} works in this mode by default.


However, creating uranium cells from depleted uranium cells requires a breeder reactor.  A safe (low temperature) breeder reactor will change a [[Depleted Isotope Cell]] into a [[ Re-Enriched Uranium Cell ]] after it receives 10 000 neutron pulses.  However, every time a uranium cell sends a pulse into an isotope cell, it generates heat as if the uranium cell was producing 5 EU/t additional energy.  However, no additional energy is generated.  Breeder reactors tend to generate a large amount of heat and little energy, but a lot of re-enriched uranium cells, which are easily crafted into uranium cells you can use to generate lots of energy.
This type of reactor utilizes [[EU]] yield of {{Gin|Uranium Cell}}s.


It is possible to make your breeder much more efficient by operating it at higher temperature.  At 3001 heat in the reactor, each neutron pulse will recharge isotope cells twice as quickly as at 0 heat (or 2999 heat).  6001 heat will operate three times more efficiently than 0 heat, and so on.
Heat yield of {{Gin|Uranium Cell}}s considered as a side effect problem, which needs to be solved by cooling the reactor.


{| class="wikitable"
EU mode Reactor is much less efficient compared to Fluid mode Reactor unless {{Gin|Fuel Rod (MOX)}} combined with high core temperature is used.
! reactor heat !! relative recharge rate
 
|-
However, one can use Coolant cells to store heats then transfer heated coolant cells into a fluid reactor to power steam turbines
|0 - 2999 || 1
 
|-
=Fluid Reactor=
|3001 - 5999 || 2
In order to build {{Gin|Reactor Pressure Vessel||}} [[Fluid reactor|Fluid Reactor]], you need to completely coat ordinary EU Reactor into a 5x5x5 hollow cube of lead blocks ({{Gin|Reactor Pressure Vessel}}, {{Gin|Reactor Access Hatch}}, {{Gin|Reactor Fluid Port}}, {{Gin|Reactor Redstone Port}})
|-
 
|6001 - 8999 || 3
This type of reactor utilizes [[HU]] (Heat) yield of {{Gin|Uranium Cell}}s.
|-
 
|9001 - 11999 || 4
All heat is transferred to {{Gin|Hot Coolant}}, which is the only product of such a Reactor.
|}
 
There is no hard limit to the efficiency of your breeder. The higher the operating temperature, the faster it will produce new cells.
In order to be transferred to Hot Coolant, Heat must be dissipated from the reactor by cooling components, meaning that the cooling problem is identical as it is for EU mode Reactor.
But be careful -- at higher reactor temperatures bad things begin to happen.  Things that typically end with a crater where your base used to be.
 
EU yield of {{Gin|Uranium Cell}}s is ignored completely. This means that using {{Gin|Fuel Rod (MOX)}} combined with high core temperature is completely useless.
 
[[EU]] is generated by utilizing heat from {{Gin|Hot Coolant}} outside the Reactor. It is up to you how to generate power from heat. For example, {{Gin|Steam Generator}} combined with {{Gin|Kinetic Steam Generator}} can be used.
 
The only way to extract [[HU]] (Heat) from {{Gin|Hot Coolant}} is by using {{Gin|Liquid Heat Exchanger}}. It accepts {{Gin|Hot Coolant}}, transfers heat to the machine it faces with heat side and returns coolant back as (cold) {{Gin|Coolant}}, which then must be returned back to the Reactor.
 
It is important to remember that Liquid Heat Exchanger will not work if the heat is not accepted from it by another machine (Steam Boiler, Stirling Generator, etc.)
 
Total dissipated heat from the Reactor is doubled. Then that doubled amount is transferred to {{Gin|Hot Coolant}}, 1 mB for each 20 [[HU]].
 
For example, there is one {{Gin|Dual Uranium Cell}} in the Reactor with 2 adjacent {{Gin|Neutron Reflector}}s. This will generate 80 [[HU]] / tick. This amount then doubles and becomes 160 [[HU]] / tick. The
 
Reactor will produce 8 mB {{Gin|Hot Coolant}} / tick, which can be transferred back to 160 [[HU]] / tick using {{Gin|Liquid Heat Exchanger}}.


==Heat regulation==
Each Liquid Heat Exchanger is limited to handle 100 [[HU]] / tick. (5 mB of {{Gin|Hot Coolant}} / tick) This is because it has 10 slots for {{Gin|Heat Conductor}}, which transfers 10 [[HU]] / tick each.
If you want your breeder reactor to operate efficiently (that means at high temperature), balancing heat can be very tricky.  Fortunately [[Heating Cell]]s are here to help.  A stack of three of these components in your reactor will give three heat to each surrounding component if that component has less than 3000 heat.  Five of them will give 5 heat to each adjacent component up to a maximum of 5000 heat, melting almost any component.  This allows you to maintain a stable high temperature if used properly.


Click [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xwaiot0LU7Q here] for a comprehensive breeder reactor setup guide.
For this example, 2 {{Gin|Liquid Heat Exchanger}}s are required to handle 160 [[HU]] / tick. One with 10 {{Gin|Heat Conductor}}s and one with 6 {{Gin|Heat Conductor}}s.


=Safeguarding your reactor=
=Safeguarding your reactor=
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==Planner==
==Planner==
Rather than testing all of your ideas out next to your vault of diamonds, try using the [http://www.talonfiremage.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/v3/reactorplanner.html planner].  It's a Java application which allows you to test to see if a design will work before implementing it.
Rather than testing all of your ideas out next to your vault of diamonds, try using the [https://github.com/MauveCloud/Ic2ExpReactorPlanner/releases planner].  It's a Java application which allows you to test to see if a design will work before implementing it.


=Dangers of reactor heat=
=Dangers of reactor heat=
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As well as being Mark I to V, reactor designs also have one or more suffixes to better inform people about their performance.
As well as being Mark I to V, reactor designs also have one or more suffixes to better inform people about their performance.


;Single Use Coolants: A reactor that relies on a supply of ice and/or water buckets in order to maintain its classification should be suffixed with '-SUC'.
;Single Use Coolants (SUC): A reactor that relies on a supply of condensator or any other consumable in order to maintain its classification should be suffixed with '-SUC'.
;Breeder: This suffix is for designs that also recharges isotope cells. Isotope cells charge up faster when the reactor runs hot, so heat management is important. There are three breeder types:
;Breeder: This suffix is for designs that also recharges isotope cells. Isotope cells charge up faster when the reactor runs hot, so heat management is important. There are three breeder types:
:*Negative-Breeders slowly lose heat over time and will need heat to be added manually, or they can be left for a safe slow way to recharge isotopes.
:*Negative-Breeders slowly lose heat over time and will need heat to be added manually, or they can be left for a safe slow way to recharge isotopes.
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:*Positive-Breeders gain heat over time and will require more precise cool down management for the reactor to remain hot.
:*Positive-Breeders gain heat over time and will require more precise cool down management for the reactor to remain hot.
:Reactors whose sole purpose is to recharge cells may not even have a 'Mark' classification and are simply called '''Breeders''' instead, with the efficiency/SUC suffix added.
:Reactors whose sole purpose is to recharge cells may not even have a 'Mark' classification and are simply called '''Breeders''' instead, with the efficiency/SUC suffix added.


==Efficiency==
==Efficiency==
Line 326: Line 416:
|}
|}


Note that this classification scheme was written before the 1.106 update, and does not address the possibility of an efficiency greater than 4.44 (the previous maximum efficiency).


=Pre 1.106=
=Pre 1.106=
The following information does not reflect the 1.106 update. This information is kept here for players of the Technic Pack until Technic is updated for 1.3 or beyond.
For information on nuclear reactor mechanics and components for old versions of IC2Experimental (pre-Minecraft 1.3) and IC2, see [[Old Reactor Mechanics and Components]].
Note that cooling has changed significantly, so if you're used to an old version of IC2, be sure to read about the new mechanics carefully!


=== Reactor Terms ===
Here are some of the terms often used when describing a reactor and its design.
:'''Heat''' - The reactor itself and its components can all store heat. If heat levels gets too high, then components will melt, and there will be a risk of a reactor meltdown (see "Violent explosion").
:'''Cooling''' - Cooling is provided by internal components like a [[Cooling Cell]] and the outside environment like water. Cooling is needed to counteract the effects of heat, preventing a meltdown.
:'''Reactor Tick''' - A reactor 'ticks' once every second. This is when heat, EU generation, and cooling is calculated. (Not to be confused with [[EU#EU.2Ft|EU ticks]] which is a completely different measurement)
:'''Uranium Pulse''' - Pulses occur every reactor tick, each pulse produces heat and EU. Uranium Cells normally pulse once per tick, but will produce one 'bonus' pulse per neighboring cell (This does not cause the cell to deplete faster, essentially generating bonus energy, but also extra heat).
:'''Breeder Reactor''' - A type of reactor design that re-enriches [[Depleted Isotope Cell]]s into full [[Uranium Cell]]s, but produces little power.
:'''Reactor Design''' - The pattern in which components are placed within a reactor. A good design can give you nice, safe energy, and a bad design can spontaneously crater-ize your home and its contents (see "Violent explosion").
:'''Full Cycle''' - The time it takes for a full Uranium Cell to be used up. 10,000 reactor ticks, or 2 hours 47 mins.
:'''Cooldown Period''' - The time required for an inactive reactor to cool all the excess heat it has collected.
:'''Reactor Hull''' - This is where heat goes when it's not stored in a component.  The maximum heat storage is 10,000, but it can be increased with [[Reactor Chamber]]s and [[Integrated Reactor Plating]].
:'''Reactor Class''' - All reactor designs can be a class like "Mark-I-O ED" or "Mark-III EB" which gives an indication of how well a design will perform.
:'''Reactor Efficiency''' - The average number of pulses per [[Uranium Cell]]. (efficiency = pulses / cells) <br/>The more Uranium Cells that are placed next to each other, the higher the efficiency, but also the higher the risk.
:'''Violent explosion''' - Also known as "reactor meltdown" or "BOOM". What happens if a reactor overheats over it's limit due to overheating. Leaves behind a crater worth being given a name. Note that serious nuclear engineers always place signs next to such craters to remember how it was created. Like "First reactor setup that was almost working as intended" or "Probably should add explosion resistant walls to the next setup".


=== Reactor Components ===
A list of the various components that can be used within a reactor.


==== Main components ====
<span class="mw-headline" style="font-size: 14pt" id="GUI">GUI</span>
;[[File:Grid_Reactor_Chamber.png]] [[Reactor Chamber]]: Placed adjacent to the reactor block, each additional chamber provides 6 additional cell slots, +1000 hull strength, and 2 cooling per reactor tick. Note that as a reactor only uses water blocks for cooling in the 3x3x3 grid around the central reactor, adding a Reactor Chamber will only add a total of +1 cooling to a water cooled reactor, as it occupies one of the possible water cooling spots.
----
This is the new GUI (fully upgraded with 6 additional [[Reactor Chamber]]s):
{{Grid/Reactor}}
Don't think about using them as a mad scientist's large chest; a reactor will spit out any item that is unrelated to its function. (Other than empty buckets.)


:Cables can be connected to a Reactor Chamber to transmit the power generated by the reactor setup. A Redstone signal applied '''directly''' to a Reactor Chamber (such as a redstone wire passing over/into the chamber, or a pulled lever supported by the chamber) will conduct through the chamber to the reactor itself, shutting it down.
== HAYO ==


==== Minecraft 1.3.2 ====


as of 9/16/2012 reactors have been updated and so most of this information is invalid
<font size = 7><span style="color:#0000FF">IT'S</span> <span style="color:#00FFFF">TIME</span> <span style="color:#00FF00">FOR</span> <span style="color:#FFFF00">THE</span> <span style="color:#FF4500">INDUSTRIAL</span> <span style="color:#FF0000">REVOLUTION,</span> <span style="color:#FF1493">HAYO!</span></font>


heat vents apparently do jest that and vent heat.


<pre style="color:red">
And since there's no revolution without sacrifices, we shall now remain quiet for 2 ticks to show our sympathy towards a lone, unnamed engineer, who managed to obtain the ultimate blueprints of Nuclear Engineering.
WARNING!
There, silence done, let's check out the blueprints! [http://i46.tinypic.com/23tli1d.jpg| >>ACCESS GRANTED<<]
REACTORS CAN NO LONGER BE COOLED WITH ICE OR WATER BUCKETS
</pre>


neutron reflectors when placed next to uranium cells will cause them to make more eu/tick
Step I: Craft the future


quad 60 eu to 80 eu
First of all, you will need to craft a Nuclear Reactor itself. Of course you can't just summon a complex Reactor out of some iron and other stuff! That would be unrealistic. Instead, you first need to craft [[Reactor Chamber|Nuclear Chambers]]. These chambers are, duh, CHAMBERS. Accordingly, you merely need a [[Machine]] Block and a half'o'stack of [[Copper]]. How to craft 33 elements together? Well, use your head, it's all about compressing numbers into quality.


dual 20 eu to 30 eu
(Be advised, I do not take any responsibility to injuries taken due attempts to compress Coppy by hammering it with your head.)


single 5 to 10 eu
After you successfully crafted three, not two, not four, but three, to be spelled, 3, which is the number following after the 2 and going before 4, chambers, you can now easily create a Nuclear Reactor, by combining the side-wards aligned Chambers with a [[Generator]] below and an [[advanced Circuit]] above. You say that's much easier then before? Well, I say HAYO. Due to improvements in various blueprints, we managed to cut down useless wasted resources by 2%, resulting in the new and awesomely cheap recipe. Once you craft your Reactor, it's already fully operational. Placing it down can be done anywhere, since the new Copper-based isolation will ensure the Reactor to be 100% immune to outward influences, accordingly it does neither heat up or cool down by itself or by surrounding blocks.


Normal reflectors last for one cycle, where Thick lasts for two. However, they last less time the more Uranium Cells are adjacent.
As you knew from before, a simple Reactor only contains 3 chambers and accordingly offers you 3 columns of space for installment of your personalized reactor setup. You can expand this setup to up to 9 columns by placing more chambers (for the math-weak of you: 6) adjacent to the Nuclear Reactor core.


==== Uranium components ====
Unless you intend to use your Reactor as hayo-ish replacement for a TNT-cannon, I advise to use [[Reinforced Stone]] to encase the Reactor in a resistant layer to ensure minimal area destruction in case of 'slight miscalculations'.
;[[File:Grid_Uranium_Cell.png]] [[Uranium Cell]]: The main fuel for the reactor. Every reactor tick, each cell produces a single generating pulse on its own and an additional generating pulse for each adjacent Uranium Cell, causing a "chain reaction" the more Uranium Cells are placed right next to each other and therefore increasing the efficiency of each single cell. Each such pulse produces a specific amount of heat (depending on the surrounding components) and 200 EU (10EU/t) '''as of 1.3.2 - Uranium Cells are reduced to 5EU/t'''. A cell lasts 10,000 reactor ticks (2 hours 47 minutes), and generates 2,000,000 EU total multiplied by the amount of other cells constantly around it, thus up to 10,000,000 EU can be generated from a single cell constantly surrounded by 4 others. When depleted, Uranium Cells may become [[Near-Depleted Uranium Cell]]s or be lost.


;[[File:Grid_Dual_Uranium_Cell.png]] [[Dual Uranium Cell]]: As it says on the tin. 1.3.2 brings with it new, staged-upgrades for Nuclear Power. Along with it comes Dual and Quad Uranium Cells. These act as if they're 2 or 4 cells in a Grid pattern. 1 Dual cell acts as 2x Uranium Cells are side-by-side. The output from a single slot used is 20EU/t because of 5EU/t per cell, as well as the +5EU/t per cell adjacent to another.


;[[File:Grid_Quad_Uranium_Cell.png]] [[Quad Uranium Cell]]: 4 Uranium Cells forged together to only take one space in the reactor slot; Output for these are 60EU/t. These new Uranium components allow for much more compact Nuclear Reactor designs - However you still have to manage that heat produced.
Part II: Uranium and you (the radiated individual)


Of course the fuel, the source of energy, the symbol of life, the ultimate answer to the question of the sense of life, the universe and how to obtain enough power for everything else, is [[Uranium]]. Mined as raw chunks, compressed into [[Uranium Ingot|craftable Brickets]], filled into strangely durable [[Empty Cell|tin cells]], you obtain [[Uranium Cell|Uranium cells]].


;[[File:Grid_Near-Depleted_Uranium_Cell.png]] [[Near-Depleted Uranium Cell]]: The 'empty' state of a Uranium Cell; these can be crafted manually, or have a chance of appearing when a Uranium Cell is depleted within a reactor. They produce 1 heat each reactor tick, but do not generate any EU.
Be advised that, for your own security, Uranium cells do only do 'something' when the reactor is receiving a direct redstone signal.


;[[File:Grid_Depleted_Isotope_Cell.png]] [[Depleted Isotope Cell]]: A depleted Uranium Cell mixed with [[Dusts|coal dust]]. When placed next to a Uranium Cell inside a reactor it recharges into a full cell after some time. The time it takes to recharge a depleted cell depends on the amount of surrounding Uranium Cells and the heat the reactor is operating at. The higher the reactor's temperature is, the faster the cells will replenish. Isotope cells produce 1 heat but do not generate any EU, the will however cause adjacent Uranium Cells to pulse an additional time. This additional pulse is used up to re-enrich the Depleted Isotope Cell and will therefore not generate any EU, but it will cause the pulsing Uranium Cell to generate additional heat as usual.
Uranium cells last for 10,000 seconds (and accordingly 10,000 ReactorTicks) each. The lifetime of an Uranium cell is considered 'one reactor cycle'.


;[[File:Grid_Re-Enriched_Uranium_Cell.png]] [[Re-Enriched Uranium Cell]]: The fully charged state of an isotope cell, it will continue to produce only 1 heat and no EU but it will no longer react with adjacent Uranium Cells. Combined with another [[Dusts|coal dust]], it will become a brand new Uranium Cell.
Uranium cells constantly and reliably (why? who cares?!) 'pulse' every full second. Every pulse causes Uranium cells to send out a load of neutrons, whilst consuming 1/10000th of themselves. Due to the critical-mass-of-compressed-uranium-in-small-tin-cells-for-whatever-reasons-hayo-rule, only a fraction of the Neutrons will actually cause Nuclear Reaction within the cell (Reactions are good, they produce energy!).


==== 1.3.2 Cooling components ====
In effect, this causes a single cell to merely produce one 'pulse' of energy. Every pulse of energy produces enough useable heat for the Nuclear Reactor to produce 100 EU, spread out amongst the next 20 ticks, effectively granting 5 EU/t.


Cooling changed a lot in IC2 1.106. The hull of a reactor and the coolant cells will no longer lose heat, only store it. To get rid of the stored heat, you need heat vents. Heat vents can store heat (except the [[Component Heat Vent]]) and dissipate it.
However, if you place Uranium Cells adjacent to other Uranium Cells, the normally 'lost' Neutrons will hit the adjacent Uranium Cell, creating another pulse (for each adjacent Uranium cell). Therefore, 2 neighbouring cells will create a total of FOUR pulses, as opposed to two pulses if they are separated.


Before starting a complete breakdown on how each cooling component works, here is an explanation of terms:
This is called 'efficiency'. Since the lifetime of a cell is not dependant on the amount of pulses it effectively creates (but on its 10k second lifetime, duh), one piece of Uranium can produce 1 or x million EU. Naturally, you will want a higher efficiency to maximize the energy gain of your Reactor.


:'''maxHeat''' - The maximum heat that can be stored before the component will melt.
However, the more efficient a cell is, the higher is the not-useable heat produced by it. Whilst useable heat is good, unuseable heat is not. It's like the dark side of good heat, just without cookies.
:'''selfCooling rate''' -  How much heat a component can dissipate per tick.
A cell creating 5 EU/t will produce 4 heat per second. 10 EU/t produce 12hps. 15 is 24hps, 20 is 40hps, etc... You will shortly learn how to deal with reactor heat.
:'''reactorTransfer rate''' - How much heat the vent can receive from the reactor hull per tick.


Lastly, it should be mentioned there are theoretical approaches to condense more Uranium into less space. Of course way too dangerous to attempt this in practical applications, condensing Uranium Cells into more compact arrangements would permit users to reduce the amount of slots needed for actual Uranium Cells. Additionally, it would permit the Uranium Cells to more effectively use its own emitted Neutrons.


;[[File:Grid_Heat_Vent.png]] [[Heat Vent]]: The basic Heat Vent is used to collect heat from uranium cells.  
For example, a theoretical setup of a 'Dual Uranium Cell' would not just produce twice as much energy (and heat) compared to a single cell, but it would additionally pulse by itself TWO TIMES (per cell element!), for a total of up to 6 pulses per Neutron emission. With a 'Quad Uranium Cell', this would even increase to a maximum of 7 pulses, the highest efficiency theoretically possible. Though such a setup would create whopping 448 heat per second... which isn't exactly hayo...
;[[File:Grid_Reactor_Heat_Vent.png]] [[Reactor Heat Vent]]:
;[[File:Grid_Overclocked_Heat_Vent.png]] [[Overclocked Heat Vent]]:
;[[File:Grid_Advanced_Heat_Vent.png]] [[Advanced Heat Vent]]:


==== Cooling components ====
Part III: Reactors in heat. ... Wait a second...


'''As of 1.3.2 Exterior cooling no longer works. Covering the reactor in water will no longer work. Along with this change Ice will no longer have a cooling effect or buckets of water. Instead new components are introduced to handle cooling in more measurable and gradient fashion. Note: The reactor no longer cools over time without the necessary components. Temperatures will sustain without an intervening body such as Coolant Cells'''
A reactor can only take so much heat before it will start melting and finally explode (which is a safety measure to prevent in from leaking dangerous radioactivity). Per default, the reactor hull can survive up to 10k heat without lasting damage. However, as the reactor's temperature rises, it will start affecting its surrounding. Reactor heat can set wooden structures ablaze, melt stone into lava and harm living beings. It is ill-advised to approach hot reactors without full [[Hazmat Suit|Hazmat-Equipment]].


;[[File:Grid_Cooling_Cell.png]] [[Cooling Cell]]: Each cooling cell may absorb 10,000 heat before melting and will cool down itself by 1 point of heat each reactor tick. Unless overheated Cooling Cells are not used up, which makes them the main cooling component inside the reactor.
To prevent the reactor hull from heating up, you can make use of various Reactor Components. The most simple of those are [[Coolant Cell]]s. Uranium Cells emit heat to all surrounding components (which can accept it) and will only heat the hull itself if there is no (suitable) component present. For example, a Uranium Cell surrounded by four other cells will always heat the reactor hull.


;[[File:Grid_Integrated_Reactor_Plating.png]] [[Integrated Reactor Plating]]: Plating will distribute heat from an adjacent Uranium Cells into surrounding cooling components, which allows to increase the amount of cooling that can be applied directly to an Uranium Cell. Heat distributed in this way can only travel a distance of one slot, possible further platings will only store the heat but not distribute it. Plating also increases the reactor's hull strength by 100 points and can store up to 10,000 heat itself before it melts, if it is unable to direct it into any other cooling component. Integrated Reactor Platings will cool down itself by 0.1 point of heat each reactor tick.
Coolant Cells can be constructed in multiple layers of coolant water, permitting the cells to store 10k, 30k or even hayoish 60k of heat. However, by themselves these cells do merely STORE the heat, but don't DISSIPATE any heat and will eventually melt as well (causing the cells to heat the hull again).


;[[File:Grid_Integrated_Heat_Disperser.png]] [[Integrated Heat Disperser]]: These components will attempt to balance out the levels of heat within the reactor hull, any adjacent component capable of storing heat and itself. During each tick a disperser can exchange up to 25 heat with the reactor hull and up to 6 heat with each of the surrounding components. Note that if all Uranium Cells in a reactor are next to at least one cooling component and therefore no longer emit heat to the reactor itself, an Integrated Heat Dispenser is required to utilize the reactor's own cooling. In addition, as this component is able to exchange heat with the reactor itself, it can as well be used to "move" heat from one place to another inside the reactor (using the reactor's own heat storage as a medium), if for example the space around an Uranium Cell is not sufficient to completely cool the heat it emits.
For this reason, I hereby present you: HeatSwitches (commonly known as HD or HeatDissipator, HeatDistributer and Strange-Thing-Which-Can-Magically-Alter-Temeperatures).


==== One time items ====
The standard HeatSwitch can store 2500 heat, has a 'sideTransfer rate' of 12 and a 'coreTransfer rate' of 4.


'''No longer work with 1.3.2'''
All HeatSwitches work the same way: They calculate the % of heat stored in all surrounding tiles, themselves and the reactor hull, calculate a median and then attempt to reach that median on all components. A heatSwitch will first shift around (component <-> switch) the heat of adjacent components, to a max of sideTransfer. Then he will try to balance the heat between itself and the reactor to a max of coreTransfer.


;[[File:Grid_Water_Bucket.png]] [[Water Bucket]]: When a reactor's hull has more than 4000 heat, it will evaporate the water inside the bucket, reducing the heat instantly by 250 points and leaving the empty bucket in the slot. This can be used to manually adjust the reactor's temperature or as a hint that the reactor is overheating.
The 'Core Heat Switch' does have a sideTransfer rate of 0 (thus no heat balance between adjacent components), but a coreTransfer rate of 72, and a maxHeat of 5000.


;[[Non-IC Items|Ice Block]] If a reactor's hull has more that 300 heat, it will evaporate ice blocks each tick, reducing the heat instantly by 300 points per block evaporated until it is below the limit of 300 heat. Note that only one ice block per reactor slot is used up per tick, therefore the total amount of heat that can be reduced per tick is limited by the slots occupied by Ice Blocks. Thus even if a reactor is filled up with stacks of ice, it still can blow up violently. Ice blocks can be used to manually cool down a reactor, as a short-time cool-down system in extreme reactor setups, or as an indicator that the reactor is building up heat.
The 'Spread Heat Switch' does not have a coreTransfer, but instead 36 sideTransfer, and a maxHeat of 5000.


;[[File:Grid_Lava_Bucket.png]] [[Lava Bucket]]: Placing a lava bucket inside a reactor will instantly increase the reactor's hull heat by 2,000 points, leaving the empty bucket in the slot. This is useful for 'breeder' type reactors to heat-up the reactor to increase the speed at which Depleted Isotope Cell recharge.
Lastly, the 'Diamond Heat Switch' has a sideTransfer of 24 and a coreTransfer of 8, and a maxHeat of 10000.


=== Heating and Cooling ===
Opposed to the old HD's, the switches do NOT dissipate heat, have a LOW heat storage and do go by %, not my static values. F.e. you have a core heat switch (5000 max) and a reactor with some plating (20000 max). The system has a total of 5000 heat. The switch will balance 1000 heat to itself and 4000 to the reactor, resulting in 20% heat for itself and the reactor.


Almost every component and the reactor itself can store heat in an effort to stave off a disaster. It is up to the cooling systems (and '''you''') to get rid of this accumulated heat before the reactor cannot take any more.
Now you can spread heat through all reactor components and balance it amongst all storage units. But unless you intend to constantly replace the storage components, the heat will merely accumulate all over the time. To solve this, our engineers designed [[Heat vents|HeatVents]] (aka Vents, Heat Ventilation, Ventilators, Fans, Followers...).


The reactor's own storage (known as the reactor hull) starts off at 10,000, but that can be increased by up to 6 extra [[Reactor Chamber|chambers]] (+1000 each) or placing [[Integrated Reactor Plating|plating]] into the reactor (+100). If the reactor hull reaches 50% of its maximum heat storage, then nearby water will begin to evaporate, and at 85% the reactor has a chance of removing itself from existence... ''violently''.
Vents have a maxHeat of 1000 and a 'selfCooling rate' and a 'reactorTransfer rate'.


Heat stored in components will be safely tucked away from the hull, but it will need time for the cooling systems to quench it all.
A vent will always first draw heat from the reactor in height of it's reactorTransfer rate, regardless of it's own heat level. They do not 'balance' as heatSwitches do. Second, they will reduce their own heat by the selfCooling rate, venting the heat into the air = Mystically gone.


The most common source of heat is [[Uranium Cell|uranium cells]], which will produce heat for each pulse they perform.  The amount of heat depends on how many cooling components (Cooling Cell, Integrated Reactor Plating, Integrated Heat Disperser) are adjacent to the cell:
'Basic Vents' merely have a selfVent of 6.
{| class="wikitable"
  |-
  ! No. of Components
  ! Heat Generated
  |-
  | 0
  | 10 per pulse into the reactor hull
  |-
  | 1
  | 10 per pulse into component
  |-
  | 2
  | 8 per pulse, 4 for each component
  |-
  | 3
  | 6 per pulse, 2 for each component
  |-
  | 4
  | 4 per pulse, 1 for each component
|}
Pro Tip and Warning: Remember, though putting uranium cells next to each other doubles the energy output, it doubles the heat as well, meaning that two uranium cells next to each other will generate 12 heat each with the max possible 3 components around each.


Formula:<br/>
'CoreVents' have 5 selfVent and 5 reactorTransfer (effectively applying continuous -5Heat/tick to the reactor hull.


'''<font size=1>H = Heat per Uranium cell<br/>U = Number of adjacent Uranium cells<br/>C = Number of adjacent Components<br/></font>
'Golden CoreVents' are tricky to use. They provide an amazing 20 selfCooling, but have 36 reactorTransfer. Effectively, this means they will always melt themselves if the reactor has enough heat avaible. It's up to you to figure out how to use them properly.
H = (U + 1) * (10 - (C - 1) * 2)'''


'Diamond Vents' have 12 selfCooling, but 0 reactorTransfer again.


More cooling systems around a uranium cell mean less overall heat to deal with, making the reactor safer, but it also reduces the potential amount of EU a cell can produce.  Risk vs. Reward.
There is one special, the 'SpreadVent'. It can NOT take up any heat. However, it automatically cools down all adjacent components by 4 per tick.


Depleted Isotope cells only produce 1 heat per tick themselves, but they still react with adjacent Uranium Cells and make them pulse additional times.


[[Near-Depleted Uranium Cell]]s and [[Re-Enriched Uranium Cell]]s produce 1 heat per tick.
Part IV: Have your uranium breed itself


There are several ways to reduce a reactor's heat each tick:
By now, you should have run low on Uranium supplies. But luckily, we still have Breeding to re-enrich and reuse spent Uranium!
{|
|- valign="top"
|
{| class="wikitable"
  ! Outside Source
  ! Cooling provided
  |-
  | The reactor itself
  | 1 heat
  |-
  | Each reactor chamber added
  | 2 heat per chamber
  |-
  | Water blocks within a 3x3x3 area*
  | 1 heat per block
  |-
  | Air 'blocks' within a 3x3x3 area**
  | 0.25 per block
  |}
&#x2A; Both still and flowing water count.


&#x2A;&#x2A; Torches, Redstone, and similar items won't count.
Whenever a Uranium Cell is used up, it has a 25% chance to turn into a [[Near-Depleted Uranium Cell|Depleted Uranium Cell]] without enough uraniumized remains to be recycled. Refilling such a depleted cell with [[Coal Dust]] will provide the necessary raw material, resulting in an '[[Depleted Isotope Cell|Isotope Cell]]'.
|
{| class="wikitable"
  ! Internal Source
  ! Cooling provided
  |-
  | Cooling Cell
  | 1 heat***
  |-
  | Integrated Reactor Plating
  | 0.1 heat***
  |-
  | Ice blocks (single use)
  | 300 heat per block
  |-
  | Water Buckets (single use)
  | 250 heat per bucket
  |}
&#x2A;&#x2A;&#x2A; Cooling only occurs if the component in question has any heat stored.
|}


The maximum outside cooling possible is 33 (reactor, 6 chambers and 20 water blocks).
During normal Reactor operations, Uranium Cells send out Neutrons every full seconds (as mentioned above). If an Isotope Cell is struck by 10000 Neutrons, it will turn into an Re-Enriched Isotope Cell. Combine this result with some more coal dust and it will turn into a fully useable Uranium Cell again.


If the amount of cooling available is less than the amount of heat produced then the reactor will gradually collect heat. There are various ways to deal with this:
The process of re-enriching Isotope Cells, however, creates the same amount of heat as the interaction between Uranium Cells, WITHOUT actually producing the according energy. But considering you can obtain a full new Uranium Cell as a 'byproduct' it should still pay out. That's the way of Nuclear Engineering, GangnamHAYO style.


* Make a design that only has a slight amount of excess heat so that even when the Uranium Cells are used up the heat levels are still not dangerous.
Even better though, the re-enrichment of Isotopes by Neutrons seems to be temperature-dependant. For each 3000 units of heat, basing on the reactor hull, there will be one additional Neutron affecting the Isotope. Accordingly, breeding Uranium with reactors on higher temperatures (f.e. 9001 heat) is much more effective (f.e. 4x fast).
* Manually drop Ice blocks and/or Water buckets into the reactor.
* Apply Redstone current to the reactor (or one of its chambers), causing it to stop generating heat and EU for as long as the Redstone current is active.
** An overheating reactor can be detected by placing redstone dust on top of wood blocks close to the reactor and sending a redstone signal through it; when the reactor heats up past 40%, the wood will burn, breaking the circuit. If this circuit's output is inverted and routed back to the reactor ('''not''' on wood blocks, to ensure the segment after the inverter is not destroyed!), it can serve as an automated shutdown / alarm circuit.
 
Heat management for a 'Breeder' type reactor is different. Breeders work best when running hot, so it's best to make a design that has exactly the same heat and cooling amount, then manually boost the heat by adding lava buckets, removing cooling, or temporarily adding extra uranium cells.
 
Reactors will emit smoke particles when warm and fire particles when hot. Be careful when using lava buckets, as the 2000 heat goes directly into the hull, and the heat dispersers need time to pull it into the cooling systems.
 
=== Environmental Effects of Reactor Heat ===
 
As reactors heat up, they will start having detrimental effects on their immediate surroundings.
Each additional chamber increases the threshold by 1000 heat, to a maximum of +6000 with 6 chambers. Each piece of hull plating futher increases the heat threshold by 100.
 
The exact heat effects for reactors are:
{| class="wikitable"
  |-
  ! % of max hull heat
  ! Environmental effect
  |-
  | 40%
  | Flammable blocks within a 5x5x5 cube have a chance of burning.
  |-
  | 50%
  | Water blocks within a 5x5x5 cube (both sources and flowing) will have a chance of evaporating.
  |-
  | 70%
  | Entities within a 7x7x7 cube (instead of a 3x3x3 cube) will get hurt from the radiation exposure.
  |-
  | 85%
  | Blocks within a 5x5x5 cube have a chance of burning or turning into lava ('moving' lava only, no source blocks).
  |-
  | 100%
  | What environment? That hole in the ground?
|}


=== Reactor Classification ===
However, with all your awesome coolant engineering... how could a reactor possibly heat up that much? The solution has a name: [[Heating Cell|Lava Buckets Heating Cells]]!
All reactor designs fall into a set of pre-defined categories. This makes it easier to see, at a glance, how effective a design can be when either looking up designs on the IC forums or posting a design yourself.


==== Mark I ====
Heating Cells, also known as HeatPacks, are special components, harnessing the intense heat of lava to act as UNDIMINISHING source of heat. These things are sort of cheap and stackable. Placing them inside of a reactor will cause them to heat up all surrounding components by 'stackSize' (=the amount of heat cells placed into the same slot).
Mark I reactors generate '''no''' excess heat each reactor tick and thus are safe to use continuously for as long as you supply Uranium. Mark Is tend have a low efficiency, but that's the price of a completely safe reactor.


Mark Is have two sub-classes: Mark I-I for design that do not rely in outside cooling in anyway and Mark I-O for those that do.
They will keep doing that, until the components heat level reached stackSize*1000. This way you can easily configure your reactor to remain on a specific heat level.


==== Mark II ====
Be advised you should use coolant cells next to the heat packs, as heating f.e. vents to 30k doesn't really work. At least not for me, HAYO.
Mark II designs produce a small amount of excess heat and will need to be given a cool down period eventually to prevent the hull reaching 85% maximum heat or melting component. A Mark II must complete at least one full cycle before encountering heat problems.


The sub-class for Mark IIs denote how many cycles the design can run before reaching critical heat levels.  For example Mark II-3 will ''need'' a cool down period after running 3 cycles in a row. Mark II
s that can run 16 times or more get the special sub-class 'E' (Mark II-E) for almost being a Mark I.


==== Mark III ====
Part V: How to turn your Reactor from hayo to HAYO!
Mark III reactors tend to have an emphasis on efficiency at the cost of safety. Mark IIIs are unable to complete a full cycle without going into meltdown and thus need to be shutdown mid-cycle in order to deal with the high amount of excess heat.  This can be done manually or by using Redstone.
 
Mark IIIs have the additional condition that they must run at least 10% of a cycle (16 mins 40 secs) before reaching critical heat or losing any components.


==== Mark IV ====
You probably are asking, right now, 'What the hell? How can a reactor possible contain the heat necessary for successful breeding?!'
Mark IVs still have to run at least 10% of a cycle, just like Mark IIIs.  The difference being that Mark IVs are allowed to lose components to overheating, and that must be replaced before the reactor goes critical.


==== Mark V ====
The answer is [[Reactor Plating|Plating]]. There are three kinds of plating.
Mark Vs are for those who want to squeeze every last scrap of EU from their uranium cells; they cannot run long without needing a cool down period. You'd better have great Redstone timer skills, or you'll never be able to turn your back on these things.


==== Additional Suffixes ====
The '[[Integrated Reactor Plating|Integrated Plating]]' increases the maximum amount of heat your Reactor can contain by 1000. Additionally, it serves as a buffer and stabilizer in case of emergencys, and will reduce a Reactor's explosion range by 5%. Since this is real life and not some exploitable computer game, using 20 platings will NOT make your reactor unexplodeable, don't try! Additionally, it reduces the strength of heat-based reactor effects (burning your cookies and setting your factory ablaze) to the same degree.
As well as being Mark I to V, reactor designs also have one or more suffixes to better inform people about their performance.


;Single Use Coolants: A reactor that relies on a supply of ice and/or water buckets in order to maintain its classification should be suffixed with '-SUC'.
There are, additionally, two modified Plating versions. The '[[Heat-Capacity Reactor Plating|Heat Plating]]' grants +2000 maxHeat, but only a 1% modifier, whilst the '[[Containment Reactor Plating|Explosive Plating]]' grants only +500 maxHeat, but a 10% reduction.


;Efficiency: To calculate efficiency, take the number of uranium pulses a design makes per tick and divide it by the number of uranium cells it possesses.
Platings DO NOT take or redistribute any sort of heat and accordingly can be safely carried in larger stacks. These stacks (opposed to HeatPacks) don't influence the way they work, though.
:The number provided will show the efficiency rating a design has:
:{| class="wikitable"
! Number
! Rating
|-
| Exactly 1
| EE
|-
| Greater than 1 but less than 2
| ED
|-
| 2 or greater but less than 3
| EC
|-
| 3 or greater but less than 4
| EB
|-
| 4 or greater
| EA
|}
 
;Breeder: This suffix is for designs that also recharges isotope cells. Isotope cells charge up faster when the reactor runs hot, so heat management is important. There are three breeder types:
:*Negative-Breeders slowly lose heat over time and will need heat to be added manually, or they can be left for a safe slow way to recharge isotopes.
:*Equal-Breeders have exactly the same heat generation as they do cooling ability and usually only require a user to boost the reactor's heat level manually at the beginning.
:*Positive-Breeders gain heat over time and will require more precise cool down management for the reactor to remain hot.
:Reactors whose sole purpose is to recharge cells may not even have a 'Mark' classification and are simply called '''Breeders''' instead, with the efficiency/SUC suffix added.


:{| class="wikitable"
And, to make things even 'more better', you can now directly enhance the effectivity of single Uranium Cells WITHOUT the use of other Uranium Cells, by the use of Reflectors.
! Heat
! Ticks Required
|-
| 0-2,999
| 40,000
|-
| 3,000-5,999
| 20,000
|-
| 6,000-8,999
| 10,000
|-
| OVER 9000!!!
| 5,000
|}


==== Example Classifications ====
[[Neutron Reflector]]s. As their name implies, they will 'reflect lost Neutrons', causing Uranium Cells to pulse equally as if they would be surrounded by more Uranium. Whilst this increases the Uranium Cells heat output, the Neutron Reflector itself will of course not produce additionally heat (opposed to a second Uranium Cell).
;Mark I-O EE: A reactor design that can run continuously, but relies on outside cooling and only produces one pulse for each Uranium Cell.


;Mark II-1 ED Positive-Breeder: A reactor with recharging capabilities that can only run one full cycle before needing a cool down.
Neutron Reflectors have a limited life length of 10000 ticks. You can, however, craft a '[[Thick Neutron Reflector]]' with a lifetime of 40k ticks. Be advised: Neutron Reflecters surrounded by multiple cells will diminish faster (2 cells adjacent to the same reflector will deplete it in half of a cell cycle).


;Mark II-2 EC: A reactor design that can run two full cycles before needing a cool down period, producing at least 2 pulses per Uranium per reactor tick on average.
To give you an example of this astonishing technology: Surrounding a single uranium cell with 4 Reflectors will grant it efficiency class 5.


;Mark II-E-SUC EC: A reactor that can run at least 16 times before needing a cool down, relying on a supply of ice or water and has average efficiency.
And if all these methods just don't cut it: Condensators.


;Breeder EA: A heat-neutral reactor designed for the sole purpose of recharging Isotope Cells. Each Uranium Cell is capable of charging 3 or more Isotope Cells.
Condensators are special tools to reduce Reactor heat. They come as Redstone and Lapis Lazuli versions (latter one being an upgrade of former).


=== Reactor Security ===
Condensators will accept any amounts of heat from surrounding components (though they don't balance heat around themselves), and INSTANTLY disperse the heat by using their fuel. Yes, you heard right: INSTANT dispersion of UNLIMITED amounts of heat. Effecively a black hole. For heat. Within your Nuclear Reactor. Uhm... HAYO!
As much as nuclear reactors are excellent terraforming devices - if you want to create huge craters - their main use is to create power for your other devices and machines. In order to avoid a sudden violent explosion, you need to take precaution and plan your reactor setup accordingly. In general there are two ways to ensure that a reactor does not unexpectedly react with its surrounding environment: you can either design a stable reactor that never overheats or, if you need more power, you can at least put the reactor into layers of material that - in the unlikely event of a nuclear meltdown - absorb the blast to keep the environment intact.


==== Stable reactors ====
A [[RSH-Condensator|Redstone Condensator]] can absorb 20k heat, refilling it (crafting) with redstone will restore 10k of its capacity.
The most simplest stable reactor is to put in a single Uranium Cell and surround it with adjacent 4 coolant cells. The Uranium Cell will now produce 4 heat each tick, which will be completely absorbed and cooled down by the coolant cells. This setup can never explode, no matter how many of these sets you manage to squeeze into your reactor chamber, it will always run safely.  


This set however only produces 10 EU/t per Uranium Cell, which is very inefficient. If you would put two Uranium Cells adjacent to each other a chain reaction starts, and suddenly each cell produces two times their previous value, for a total of 40 EU/t. However those cells as well double their heat output. So if you still only surround them with Coolant Cells you would not only be restricted to 3 cells for each Uranium Cell (as the 4th spot is taken by the other Uranium Cell), but each of those Coolant Cells would now receive 2 heat per reactor tick, but can only cool down by 1 point per tick. Given some time (actually lots of time) those cooling cells would melt down, the heat emitted by each Uranium Cell increases as it lacks surrounding cooling components, till eventually they emit their combined 40 heat per tick into the reactor hull, which cannot dissipate all the heat on its own, and finally causes a massive explosion.
[[LZH-Condensator|Lapis Lazuli Condensators]] can absorb 100k heat, redstone refills 5k and Lapis Lazuli 40k.


Adding more cooling components to the setup and using a smart layout of cooling cells, heat dispersers and platings, it is possible to run a chain reaction of 3 Uranium Cells while dissipating all the heat created by this chain reaction using only a reactor with two chambers, thus creating a Mark I (stable) reactor setup with an output 70 EU/t for a total of 14,000,000 EU over the life-time of those three Uranium Cells. It is recommended to insert ice blocks into the reactor chamber while experimenting, which will vaporize as soon as the reactor exceeds 300 heat, indicating that the setup is not stable.
Part VI: Last and most likely least...
 
It is not possible, no matter how smart the setup is, to run a stable chain reaction of 4 or more Uranium Cells, as even for the setup with the least heat emitted, you still would need more Coolant Cells than you can fit into the reactor chamber. However, if you have the buildcraft mod you can transport ice and water buckets to the reactor, thus cooling it down. It MAY be possible to use a bulidcraft pump and water proof pipes to pump water into the reactor WITHOUT the use of buckets, but it is not known if that will work. See the buildcraft wiki if you don't understand what I am talking about.
 
==== Reducing the Explosion Radius ====
If you require more than 70 EU/t from your reactor and you are not willing to use up the materials or the space to build a second reactor, you can put in more Uranium Cells into the reactor chamber than it can cool down for some time, to fulfill your need of EU. While extreme setups are capable of outputting over 2000 EU/t they require perfect timing to shut the reactor down just right before it explodes. During experimentation with such setups it is strongly recommended to take security precautions to reduce the explosion radius of an almost perfectly working setup.
 
In the unlikely event of a nuclear meltdown, the reactor will explode violently and force its internal pressure right into it's surrounding environment. Read: it will destroy everything in a large radius till the entire force of the explosion is used up. To avoid the destruction of your house or other valuable assets, you need to give the possible explosion material to react with that is stable enough to use up at least a good portion of the explosion force. You need [[Reinforced Stone]].


While the reactor will turn everything into molten clumps of lava in a 5x5x5 cube centered around the central reactor given enough time and heat, everything beyond that will survive to absorb the explosion blast. Surrounding the reactor completely with a layer Reinforced Stone will reduce the explosion from a massive crater to a mere hole. Adding a second layer will reduce the explosion to a slight bump into the adjacent material and adding a third layer will guarantee that no matter how violent the explosion might be, only the Reinforced Stone will be consumed by it.
Now you might ask how to transport the generated energy into your storage if you completely surround the reactor with Reinforced Stone or how to apply a redstone signal to shut it down. Smart question! And the answer is: directed force. It is inevitable to have at least some holes in your secure layers, but the good news is, the explosion does not simply destroy a sphere around the reactor, the force that escapes the construction will keep its direction of travel. So if you attach your cables at the top of the reactor, the explosion's force escaping the shelter will only destroy things above the reactor, which under optimal conditions is just air. In the same way a redstone torch from below can be used to signal the reactor to run or shut down, which conveniently can be transmitted through one solid block per torch.
Building a proper shelter around your reactor allows you to experiment with nuclear energy and risk only the reactor itself, some reinforced stone blocks, and your life.
=== Tips and Tricks ===
Here are a few tips and things to look out for when using a reactor.
* There is a Thermometer add-on on the [http://forum.industrial-craft.net/index.php?page=Thread&threadID=972 IC forum] that can be useful for those who want to monitor heat levels closely.
* Redstone timers can turn even Mark Vs into self regulating-reactors, but if you're not the Redstone equivalent of "The One", then you might want to make use of a Redstone enhancing mod, like [http://integratedredstone.wikispaces.com/ RedPower], for example.
* Heat Dispersers can only draw 6 heat out of a component per reactor tick, so look for components that seem to be holding more heat than the others and try to fix the problem.
* While the reactor hull's maximum heat tolerance can be increased, all other components are fixed at 10,000. So even though a reactor can survive 10,000+ heat, Heat Dispersers will still pull that heat into components and melt them all.
* A math trick to calculate the number of pulses (P) for complex (i.e. Mark IV or Mark V) reactors is to multiply the number of uranium cells (U) by 5 and subtract the number of sides of uranium cells not touching other uranium cells (S) so P = 5 * U - S. So a Mark V reactor (9x6 uranium cells) would make 5 * (9 * 6) - 2 * (9 + 6) pulses = 240 pulses (and 2400 EU/t which would explode even HV cables and HV transformers, and 2400 heat per second which would explode the reactor in less than a minute (i tested it yesterday).
* It is possible to use buildcraft with a nuclear reactor by connecting pipe to either the main reactor block or its chambers. This can be used to pump ice into the reactor from a chest continuously. Ice can be produced with pumps over infinite water sources adjacent to compressors (creating snowballs) feeding into another compressor which turns snowballs to ice, but it requires about 1400 EU per ice block, and may not be practical.
*As an additional precaution, consider adding an automatic cutoff switch.  If the redstone current which turns the reactor on is wired over or through a flammable block near the reactor, then if the reactor gets hot enough to burn nearby blocks the reactor will probably turn off, which may stop the meltdown. 
<span class="mw-headline" style="font-size: 14pt" id="GUI">GUI</span>
----
This is the new GUI (fully upgraded with 6 additional [[Reactor Chamber]]s):
{{Grid/Reactor}}
Don't think about using them as a mad scientist's large chest; a reactor will spit out any item that is unrelated to its function. (Other than empty buckets.)
== HAYO ==
<font size = 7><span style="color:#0000FF">IT'S</span> <span style="color:#00FFFF">TIME</span> <span style="color:#00FF00">FOR</span> <span style="color:#FFFF00">THE</span> <span style="color:#FF4500">INDUSTRIAL</span> <span style="color:#FF0000">REVOLUTION,</span> <span style="color:#FF1493">HAYO!</span></font>
And since there's no revolution without sacrifices, we shall now remain quiet for 2 ticks to show our sympathy towards a lone, unnamed engineer, who managed to obtain the ultimate blueprints of Nuclear Engineering.
There, silence done, let's check out the blueprints! [http://i46.tinypic.com/23tli1d.jpg| >>ACCESS GRANTED<<]
Step I: Craft the future
First of all, you will need to craft a Nuclear Reactor itself. Of course you can't just summon a complex Reactor out of some iron and other stuff! That would be unrealistic. Instead, you first need to craft Nuclear Chambers. These chambers are, duh, CHAMBERS. Accordingly, you merely need a Machine Block and a half'o'stack of Copper. How to craft 33 elements together? Well, use your head, it's all about compressing numbers into quality.
(Be advised, I do not take any responsibility to injuries taken due attempts to compress Coppy by hammering it with your head.)
After you successfully crafted three, not two, not four, but three, to be spelled, 3, which is the number following after the 2 and going before 4, chambers, you can now easyly create a Nuclear Reactor, by combining the side-wards aligned Chambers with a Generator below and an advanced Circuit above.
You say that's much easier then before? Well, I say HAYO.
Due to improvements in various blueprints, we managed to cut down useless wasted ressources by 2%, resulting in the new and awesomely cheap recipe. Once you crafter your Reactor, it's already fully operational. Placing it down can be done anywhere, since the new Copper-based isolation will ensure the Reactor to be 100% immune to outward influences, accordingly it does neither heat up or cool down by itself or by surrounding blocks.
As you knew from before, a simple Reactor only contains 3 chambers and accordingly offers you 3 coloumns of space for installment of your personlaized reactor setup. You can expand this setup to up to 9 coloumns by placing more chambers (for the math-weak of you: 6) adjacent to the Nuclear Reactor core.
Unless you intend to use your Reactor as hayo-ish replacement for a TNT-cannon, I advise to use Reinforced Stone to encase the Reactor in a resistant layer to ensure minimal area destruction in case of 'slight misscalculations'.
Part II: Uranium and you (the radiated individual)
Of course the fuel, the source of energy, the symbol of life, the ultimate answer to the question of the sense of life, the universe and how to obtain enough power for everything else, is Uranium. Mined as raw chunks, compressed into craftable Brickets, filled into strangely durable tin cells, you obtain Uranium cells.
Be advised that, for your own security, Uranium cells do only do 'something' when the reactor is receiving a direct redstone signal.
Uranium cells last for 10.000 seconds (and accordingly 10.000 ReactorTicks) each. The lifetime of an Uranium cell is considered 'one reactor cycle'.
Uranium cells constantly and reliably (why? who cares?!) 'pulse' every full second. Every pulse causes an Uranium cells to send out a load of neutrons, whilst consuming 1/10000th of itself. Due to the critical-mass-of-compressed-uranium-in-small-tin-cells-for-whatever-reasons-hayo-rule, only a fractal of the Neutrons will actually cause Nuclear Reaction within the cell. (Reaction are good, they produce energy!).
In effect, this causes a single cell to merely produce one 'pulse' of energy. Every pulse of energy produces enough useable heat for the Nuclear Reactor to produce 100 EU, spread out amongst the next 20 ticks, effectively granting 5 EU/t.
However, if you place Uranium Cells adjacent to other Uranium Cells, the normally 'lost' Neutrons will hit the adjacent Uranium Cell, creating another pulse (for each adjacent Uranium cell). Therefore, 2 neighbouring cells will create a total of FOUR pulses, opposed to two pulses if they would be seperated.
This is called 'efficiency'. Since the lifetime of a cell is not dependant on the amount of pulses it effectively creates (but on it's 10k second lifetime, duh), one piece of Uraniumj can produce 1 or x million EU. Naturally, you will want a higher efficiency to maximize the energy gain of your Reactor.
However, the more efficient a cell is, the higher is the not-useable heat produced by it. Whilst useable heat is good, unuseable heat is not. It's like the dark side of good heat, just without cookies.
A cell creating 5 EU/t will produce 4 heat per second. 10 EU/t produce 12hps. 15 is 24hps, 20 is 40hps, etc... You will shortly learn how to deal with reactor heat.
Lastly, it should be mentioned there are theoretical approaches to condense more Uranium into less space. Of course way too dangerous to attempt this in practical applications, condensing Uranium Cells into more compact arrangements would permit users to reduce the amount of slots needed for actual Uranium Cells. Additionally, it would permit the Uranium Cells to more effectively use it's own emitted Neutrons.
For example a, theoretical!, setup of a 'Dual Uranium Cell', would not just produce twice as much energy (and heat) compared to a single cell, but it would additional pulse by itself TWO TIMES (per cell element!), for a total of up to 6 pulses per Neutron emission. With a 'Quad Uranium Cell', this would even increase to a maximum of 7 pulses, the highest efficiency theoretically possible. Though such a setup would create whopping 448 heat per second... which isn't exactly hayo...
Part III: Reactors in heat. ... Wait a second...
A reactor can only take so much heat before it will start melting and finally explode (which is a safety measure to prevent in from leaking dangerous radioactivity). Per default, the reactor hull can survive up to 10k heat without lasting damage. However, as the reactor's temperature rises, it will start affecting it's surrounding. Reactor heat can set wooden structures ablaze, melt stone into lava and harm living beings. It is ill-advised to approach hot reactors without full Hazmat-Equipment.
To prevent the reactor hull from heating up, you can make use of various Reactor Components. The most simple of those are Coolant Cells. Uranium Cells emit heat to all surrounding components (which can accept it) and will only heat the hull itself if there is no (suitable) component present. For example an Uranium Cell surrounded by four other cells will always heat the reactor hull.
Coolant Cells can be constructed in multiple layers of coolant water, permitting the cells to store 10k, 30k or even hayoish 60k of heat. However, by themselves these cells do merely STORE the heat, but don't DISSIPATE any heat and will eventually melt as well (causing the cells to heat the hull again).
For this reason, I hereby present you: HeatSwitches (commonly known as HD or HeatDissipator, HeatDistributer and Strange-Thing-Which-Can-Magically-Alter-Temeperatures).
The standard HeatSwitch can store 2500 heat, has a 'sideTransfer rate' of 12 and a 'coreTransfer rate' of 4.
All HeatSwitches work the same way: They calculate the % of heat stored in all surrounding tiles, themselves and the reactor hull, calculate a median and then attempt to reach that median on all components. A heatSwitch will first shift around (component <-> switch) the heat of adjacent components, to a max of sideTransfer. Then he will try to balance the heat between itself and the reactor to a max of coreTransfer.
The 'Core Heat Switch' does have a sideTransfer rate of 0 (thus no heat balance between adjacent components), but a coreTransfer rate of 72, and a maxHeat of 5000.
The 'Spread Heat Switch' does not have a coreTrasnfer, but instead 36 sideTransfer, and a maxHeat of 5000.
Lastly, the 'Diamond Heat Switch' has a sideTransfer of 24 and a coreTransfer of 8, and a maxHeat of 10000.
Opposed to the old HD's, the switches do NOT dissipate heat, have a LOW heat storage and do go by %, not my static values. F.e. you have a core heat switch (5000 max) and a reactor with some plating (20000 max). The system has a total of 5000 heat. The switch will balance 1000 heat to itself and 4000 to the reactor, resulting in 20% heat for itself and the reactor.
Now you can spread heat through all reactor components and balance it amongst all storage units. But unless you intend to constantly replace the storage components, the heat will merely accumulate all over the time. To solve this, our engineers designed HeatVents (aka Vents, Heat Ventilation, Ventilators, Fans, Followers...)
Vents have a maxHeat of 1000 and a 'selfCooling rate' and a 'reactorTransfer rate'.
A vent will always first draw heat from the reactor in height of it's reactorTransfer rate, regardless of it's own heat level. They do not 'balance' as heatSwitches do. Second, they will reduce their own heat by the selfCooling rate, venting the heat into the air = Mystically gone.
'Basic Vent's do merely have a selfVent of 6.
'CoreVent's have 5 selfVent and 5 reactorTransfer (effectively applying continous -5Heat/tick to the reactor hull.
'Golden CoreVent's are tricky to use. They provide an amazing 20 selfCooling, but have 36 reactorTransfer. Effectively, this means they will always melt themselves if the reactor has enough heat avaible. It's up to you to figure out how to use them properly.
'Diamond Vent's have 12 selfCooling, but 0 reactorTrasnfer again.
There is one special, the 'SpreadVent'. It can NOT take up any heat. However, it automatically cools down all adjacent components by 4 per tick.
Part IV: Have your uranium breed itself
By now, you should have run low on Uranium supplies. But luckyly, we still have Breeding to reenrich and reuse spent Uranium!
Whenever an Uranium Cell is used up, it has a 25% chance to turn into a Depleted Uranium Cells without enough uraniumized remains to be recycled. Refilling such a depleted cell with Coal Dust will provide the necessary raw material, resulting in an 'Isotope Cell'.
During normal Reactor operations, Uranium Cells send out Neutrons every full seconds (as mentioned above). If an Isotope Cell is struck by 10000 Neutrons, it will turn into an Re-Enriched Isotope Cell. Combine this result with some more coal dust and it will turn into a fully useable Uranium Cell again.
The process of re-enriching Isotope Cells, however, creates the same amount of heat as the interaction between Uranium Cells, WITHOUT actually producing the according energy. But considering you can obtain a full new Uranium Cell as a 'byproduct' it should still pay out. That's the way of Nuclear Engineering, GangnamHAYO style.
Even better though, the re-enrichment of Isotopes by Neutrons seems to be temperature-dependant. For each 3000 units of heat, basing on the reactor hull, there will be one additional Neutron affecting the Isotope. Accordingly, breeding Uranium with reactors on higher temperatures (f.e. 9001 heat) is much more effective (f.e. 4x fast).
However, with all your awesome coolant engineering... how could a reactor possibly heat up that much? The solution has a name: Lava Buckets Heating Cells!
Heating Cells, also known as HeatPacks, are special components, harnessing the intense heat of lava to act as UNDIMINISHING source of heat. These things are sort of cheap and stackable. Placing them inside of a reactor will cause them to heat up all surrounding components by 'stackSize' (=the amount of heatcells placed into the same slot).
They will keep doing that, until the components heat level reached stackSize*1000. This way you can easyly configure your reactor to remain on a specific heat level.
Be advised you should use coolant cells next to the heatpacks, as heating f.e. vents to 30k doesnt really work. At least not for me, HAYO.
Part V: How to turn your Reactor from hayo to HAYO!
You probably are asking, right now, 'What the hell? How can a reactor possible contain the heat necessary for successfull breeding?!'
The answer is Plating. There are three kinds of plating.
The 'Integrated Plating' increases the maximum amount of heat your Reactor can contain by 1000. Additionally, it serves as a buffer and stabilizer in case of emergencys, and will reduce a Reactor's explosion range by 5%. Since this is reallife and not some exploitable computer game, using 20 platings will NOT make your reactor unexplodeable, don't try! Additionally, it reduces the strength of heat-based reactor effects (burning your cookies and setting your factory ablaze) to the same degree.
There are, additionally, two modified Plating versions. The 'Heat Plating' grants +2000 maxHeat, but only a 1% modifier, whilst the 'Explosive Plating' grants only +500 maxHeat, but a 10% reduction.
Platings DO NOT take or redistribute any sort of heat and accordingly can be safely carried in larger stacks. These stacks (opposed to HeatPacks) don't influence the way they work, though.
And, to make things even 'more better', you can now directly enhance the effectivity of single Uranium Cells WITHOUT the use of other Uranum Cells, by the use of Reflectors.
Neutron Reflectors. As their name implies, they will 'reflect lost Neutrons', causing Uranium Cells to pulse equally as if they would be surrounded by more Uranium. Whilst this increases the Uranium Cells heat output, the Neutron Reflector itself will of course not produce additionally heat (opposed to a second Uranium Cell).
Neutron Reflectors have a limited life length of 10000 ticks. You can, however, craft a 'Thick Neutron Reflector' with a lifetime of 40k ticks. Be advised: Neutron Reflectoers surrounded by multiple cells will diminish faster (2 cells adjacent to the same reflector will deplete it in half of a cell cycle).
To give you an example of this astonishing techonology: Surrounding a single uranium cell with 4 Reflectors will grant it efficiency class 5.
And if all these methods just don't cut it: Condensators
Condensators are a special tool to reduce Reactor heat. They come as Redstone and as LapisLazuli versions (latter one being an upgrade of former).
Condensators will accept any amounts of heat from surrounding components (though they don't balance heat around themseles), and INSTANTLY disperse the heat by using their fuel. Yes, you heard right: INSTANT dispersion of UNLIMITE amounts of heat. Effecively a black hole. For heat. Within your Nuclear Reactor. Uhm... HAYO!
A Redstone Condensator can absorb 20k heat, refilling it (crafting) with redstone will restore 10k of it's capcity.
LapisLazuli Condensators can absorb 100k heat, redstone refills 5k and Lapis Lazuli 40k.
Part VI: Last and most likely least...
Due to copyright issues and nostalgic ideals, it's still recommended to use the 'old' system of labelling your Reactor designs. You can find the somewhat outdated notes here: [http://forum.industrial-craft.net/index.php?page=Thread&postID=2178#post2178| Handbook for Reactor-Labelling].
Due to copyright issues and nostalgic ideals, it's still recommended to use the 'old' system of labelling your Reactor designs. You can find the somewhat outdated notes here: [http://forum.industrial-craft.net/index.php?page=Thread&postID=2178#post2178| Handbook for Reactor-Labelling].


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|-
|-
| '''1.106'''
| '''1.106'''
| [[Nuclear Reactor|Nuclear Reactors]] had their recipe changed again as part of the 2nd Nuclear Revolution and works totally differently.
| [[Nuclear Reactor|Nuclear Reactors]] had their recipe changed again as part of the 2nd Nuclear Revolution and works totally differently. <br/>
{|
|{{Grid/Crafting Table
|B1=Dense Copper Plate
|A2=Dense Copper Plate|B2=Machine|C2=Dense Copper Plate
|B3=Dense Copper Plate
|Output=Reactor Chamber
}}
|{{Grid/Crafting Table
|B1=Advanced Circuit
|A2=Reactor Chamber|B2=Reactor Chamber|C2=Reactor Chamber
|B3=Generator
|Output=Nuclear Reactor
}}
|}
|-
| '''2.? (experimental)'''
| [[Reactor Chamber|Reactor Chambers]] use lead plates instead of dense copper plates. Reactor use [[Dense Lead Plate]]s in the corners as well.
{|
|{{Grid/Crafting Table
|A1=Dense Lead Plate|B1=Advanced Circuit|C1=Dense Lead Plate
|A2=Reactor Chamber|B2=Reactor Chamber|C2=Reactor Chamber
|A3=Dense Lead Plate|B3=Generator|C3=Dense Lead Plate
|Output=Nuclear Reactor
}}
|{{Grid/Crafting Table
|B1=Lead Plate
|A2=Lead Plate|B2=Machine|C2=Lead Plate
|B3=Lead Plate
|Output=Reactor Chamber
}}
|}
|-
|-
|}
|}


{{Navigation}}
 
[[Category:Generators]]
[[Category:Generators]]
<span class="mw-headline" style="font-size: 14pt" id="Recipe">Recipe

Revision as of 15:01, 21 April 2019

Nuclear Reactor
Nuclear Reactor ig.png
Grid Nuclear Reactor.png
Properties
Type Generator
Tool Grid Wrench.png




Stackable Yes (64)





Energy Consumption


EU Per Operation 2,000,000(2M)-1680M
EU Production 5-6960 EU/t
Technical Details
Operation Length 20000(5:33:20) Seconds
UU Cost {{{uu_cost}}}
First appearance ?
ID IC2:{{{id}}}


The Nuclear Reactor is a generator that produces EU by slowly breaking down Grid Uranium Cell.png Uranium Cells. As cells decay inside the reactor, they produce heat. Heat may be removed by several different cooling methods. If cooling is insufficient, the reactor will gradually overheat and eventually explode.

Copper Cable is sufficient for basic reactors, but advanced reactors will require Gold or HV Cable.

Each Uranium Cell will last 1 reactor cycle (20,000 seconds, ~5h 33min) inside the reactor, providing at least 5 EU/t power (at least 2 million EU per cell). A very efficient setup can give more than 32 million EU per uranium Cell.

You can enlarge the space of your reactor by placing up to 6 additional Grid Reactor Chamber.png Reactor Chambers directly adjacent to the reactor.

With IndustrialCraft2, the reactor system is fully recoded! Instead of lame Uranium refining, you now have to make a good setup for your reactor with all the reactor stuff you can find in the navigation. But one thing wasn't completely changed: nuclear meltdowns!

As of Minecraft 1.3.2, IndustrialCraft2 has had a second re-write of the Nuclear Reactor with additional components and removed environmental effects such as water and Ice cooling. For old mechanics and tips, see Old_Reactor_Mechanics_and_Components.

Helpful forum post

Recipe[edit]

Experimental v2.x[edit]


Grid Lead Plate.png


Grid Lead Plate.png
Grid Machine.png
Grid Lead Plate.png


Grid Lead Plate.png


Grid Reactor Chamber.png

Grid Dense Lead Plate.png
Grid Reactor Chamber.png
Grid Dense Lead Plate.png
Grid Advanced Circuit.png
Grid Reactor Chamber.png
Grid Generator.png
Grid Dense Lead Plate.png
Grid Reactor Chamber.png
Grid Dense Lead Plate.png
Grid Nuclear Reactor.png

IndustrialCraft v1.106[edit]


Grid Dense Copper Plate.png


Grid Dense Copper Plate.png
Grid Machine.png
Grid Dense Copper Plate.png


Grid Dense Copper Plate.png


Grid Reactor Chamber.png


Grid Reactor Chamber.png


Grid Advanced Circuit.png
Grid Reactor Chamber.png
Grid Generator.png


Grid Reactor Chamber.png


Grid Nuclear Reactor.png

IndustrialCraft v0.90[edit]


Grid Copper.png


Grid Copper.png
Grid Advanced Alloy.png
Grid Copper.png


Grid Copper.png


Grid Integrated Reactor Plating.png

Grid Copper.png
Grid Cooling Cell.png


Grid Advanced Circuit.png
Grid Integrated Reactor Plating.png


Grid Copper.png
Grid Cooling Cell.png


Grid Integrated Heat Disperser.png

Grid Advanced Alloy.png
Grid Integrated Reactor Plating.png
Grid Advanced Alloy.png
Grid Integrated Heat Dispenser.png
Grid Machine.png
Grid Integrated Reactor Plating.png
Grid Advanced Alloy.png
Grid Integrated Reactor Plating.png
Grid Advanced Alloy.png
Grid Reactor Chamber.png

Grid Advanced Alloy.png
Grid Reactor Chamber.png
Grid Advanced Alloy.png
Grid Advanced Circuit.png
Grid Generator.png
Grid Advanced Circuit.png
Grid Advanced Alloy.png
Grid Reactor Chamber.png
Grid Advanced Alloy.png
Grid Nuclear Reactor.png

Basic Reactor Setup[edit]

Once you have your reactor, you want to get some power out of it. The nuclear reactor acts like a chest. Place the right components in the reactor in the right locations, and voila -- nearly free energy! Place the wrong components or in the wrong locations, and BOOM!

The simplest reactor contains one Uranium Cell and one Heat Vent. Turned on and off with a lever switch. As of IC2: Experimental, any setup of this nature is referred to as "EU MODE" in the Reactor's UI which also states that the output is being reduced by half. This is intentional, as there are now two operating modes for a reactor, the second "HEATING MODE" being dependent on surrounding the reactor proper with other certain blocks. Heating mode uses Reactor Pressure Vessels to heat Coolant into Hot Coolant, which can then be used to generate EU.''

Uranium Cell

Heat Vent


























If you apply a lever ON/OFF switch, this reactor will produce 5 EU/t. It will also generate 4 heat per second into the heat vent, and the heat vent will try to dissipate 6 units heat, only find 4, and dissipate that. Which brings us to a key concept in reactor design: heat.

Heat is generated every second by any uranium cell which is generating EU. It can either go into a component (such as the heat vent) or into the reactor vessel itself. If too much accumulates in a component, that component is destroyed. If too much accumulates in the reactor, the reactor will start doing Bad Things, such as poisoning players in the area, or exploding violently. Heat is bad. Fortunately, there are many tools to help you deal with heat.

Heat Manipulation Tools[edit]

Vents[edit]

These devices get rid of heat, releasing it to the outer air where it does no harm. They come in five varieties, each useful in different circumstances.

Grid Heat Vent.png Heat Vent
The basic vent dissipates 6 heat from itself every second.
Grid Reactor Heat Vent.png Reactor Heat Vent
This vent moves 5 heat from the reactor vessel to itself and dissipates 5 heat every second. This has the advantage that it can function effectively anywhere in the reactor, not just next to the uranium cell.
Grid Advanced Heat Vent.png Advanced Heat Vent
An improvement to a basic heat vent, this component dissipates 12 heat from itself.
Grid Component Heat Vent.png Component Heat Vent
This vent dissipates 4 heat from each surrounding component.
Grid Overclocked Heat Vent.png Overclocked Heat Vent
This vent moves 36 heat from the reactor to itself and then dissipates 20 heat from itself. This will cause the component to overheat if steps are not taken to cool this component.

To summarize

name heat dissipated heat pulled from reactor maximum accumulated heat
Heat Vent 6 0 1000
Reactor Heat Vent 5 5 1000
Advanced Heat Vent 12 0 1000
Overclocked Heat Vent 20 36 1000
Component Heat Vent 4* 0 1000

Heat Exchangers[edit]

Another tool in your heat-control toolbox is heat exchangers, which do not dissipate heat, but instead move it around, hopefully to where it can be dissipated more easily. Heat exchangers work intelligently, seeking to make every component they interact be equally far from disintegration.

For instance, if a basic heat exchanger (which is destroyed at 2500 heat) was transferring heat from itself to the reactor (which usually is destroyed at 10 000 heat), and there was 1250 heat in between the two of them, would try to give the reactor 1000 heat (10% of the reactor's capacity) and itself 250 heat (10% of its capacity).

There are four types.

Grid Heat Exchanger.png Heat Exchanger
These will first exchange up to 12 heat with each surrounding component, and then up to 4 with the reactor itself.
Grid Advanced Heat Exchanger.png Advanced Heat Exchanger
These transfer up to 24 heat with each surrounding component, and then up to 8 with the reactor.
Grid Core Heat Exchanger.png Reactor Heat Exchanger
These transfer up to 72 heat with the reactor, but will not move heat to or from nearby components. These will usually be at the same percent capacity as the reactor, so they are useful as a kind of thermometer for your reactor.
Grid Component Heat Exchanger.png Component Heat Exchanger
These transfer up to 36 heat with each adjacent component, but does not transfer any with the reactor itself.

In summary

name transfer to adjacent transfer to core max heat
Heat Exchanger 12 4 2500
Advanced Heat Exchanger 24 8 10000
Reactor Heat Exchanger 0 72 5000
Component Heat Exchanger 36 0 5000

Cooling Cells and Condensators[edit]

Cooling Cells and Condensators have the capacity to absorb large amounts of heat. Condensators play the role of Single Use Coolant.

Condensators absorb and eliminate heat instantly, but can only be recharged on a crafting table. Coolant Cells absorb heat instantly, but cannot dissipate on their own. (Some combination of Heat Exchangers and Heat Vents are required to cool off a Coolant Cell - or you can just let it melt and replace it.)

name heat dissipated before destruction
10k Coolant Cell 10 000
30k Coolant Cell 30 000
60k Coolant Cell 60 000
RSH-Condensator 20 000
LZH-Condensator 100 000

RSH-Condensator are recharged with redstone dust. Each redstone dust restores 10k of coolant potential. LZH-Condensators are recharged with either lapis lazuli, which restores 40k, or with redstone dust, which only restores 5k.

Efficiency[edit]

A single lone uranium cell will produce 5 EU/t, or a not-inconsiderable 1 million EU over its lifetime. But two cells next to each other will produce four times the power and energy. This is because of neutron pulses. Each second, each uranium cell sends a pulse to each adjacent component. A uranium pulse which receives a neutron pulse is made more efficient, and delivers an additional 5 EU/t.

For example if cell A and cell B are next to each other,

Uranium Cell

Uranium Cell

























A will make 5 EU/t on its own, B will make 5 EU/t on its own. But A will make 5 EU/t more because it receives a pulse from B, and B will make 5 EU/t more because it receives a pulse from A, for a total of 20 EU/t. This does not reduce the 10 000 s operating lifetime of the cells, so you get twice the power and energy per uranium cell used.

The efficiency of a cell is how many times over it produces 5 EU/t. In the previous example, the efficiency of the cells was 2, because each cell produced 10 EU/t = 2 * 5 EU/t.

But this efficiency comes at a cost in heat. Uranium cells which produce more energy generate more heat. The heat to be generated is calculated by the following formula:

heat/second =
n(n+1)/
× 2; where n is the efficiency (or number of adjacent components which send neutron pulses)

Here, n is the efficiency of the cell, not the efficiency of the reactor setup.

efficiency heat generated heat/efficiency
1 4 4
2 12 6
3 24 8
4 40 10
5 60 12
6 84 14
7 112 16
17 612 36

EU / tick

Grid Uranium Cell.png Uranium Cell Grid Dual Uranium Cell.png Dual Uranium Cell Grid Quad Uranium Cell.png Quad Uranium Cell
reflections 0 5 20 60
reflections 1 10 30 80
reflections 2 15 40 100
reflections 3 20 50 120
reflections 4 25 60 140

HU (Heat) / tick

Grid Uranium Cell.png Uranium Cell Grid Dual Uranium Cell.png Dual Uranium Cell Grid Quad Uranium Cell.png Quad Uranium Cell
reflections 0 4 24 96
reflections 1 12 48 160
reflections 2 24 80 240
reflections 3 40 120 336
reflections 4 60 168 448

One of the major problems of nuclear engineering is to balance efficiency against the problems the extra heat generates.

Dual and Quad Uranium Cells[edit]

Important tools to help make more efficient generators are the Dual Uranium Cell and the Quad Uranium Cell. A dual cell is a single component which functions like a pair of uranium cells next to each other. Alone it generates 20 EU/t, 24 heat, and sends two neutron pulses to each adjacent component. It efficiency is calculated as how many times each cell produces 5 EU/t, so a dual cell producing 20 EU/t has an efficiency of 2, and so produces 12 heat per cell, or 24 heat total. Every time a dual cell receives a neutron pulse it generates an additional 5 EU/t.

The Quad Uranium Cell is similar, but considered four uranium cells in a square, in one component. It thus generates 60 EU/t, and 96 heat if alone. These components allow efficiencies as high as 17, but normally won't exceed 7.

Bug: In version 1.106, the dual/quad cells last 1/2 or 1/4 as long as they should (20 000 s).

Reflectors[edit]

Another important tool for increased efficiency is the Neutron Reflector and the Thick Neutron Reflector. Both of these reflect neutron pulses back to the uranium cell which produced them. This means that a single uranium cell surrounded by 4 neutron reflectors will receive 4 neutron pulses, and so have an efficiency of 5. Quad Uranium cells will output 80 EU/t instead of 60 EU/t. Dual Uranium cells will output 30 EU/t instead of 20 EU/t. One Uranium cell will output 10 EU/t instead of 5 EU/t.

A disadvantage of these reflectors is that they wear out over time. The neutron reflector can reflect 20 000 pulses (one complete cycle from one uranium cell). The thick neutron reflector is more durable, allowing it to reflect 120 000 pulses before failure.

EU Reactor[edit]

Grid Nuclear Reactor.png Nuclear Reactor works in this mode by default.

This type of reactor utilizes EU yield of Grid Uranium Cell.png Uranium Cells.

Heat yield of Grid Uranium Cell.png Uranium Cells considered as a side effect problem, which needs to be solved by cooling the reactor.

EU mode Reactor is much less efficient compared to Fluid mode Reactor unless Grid Fuel Rod (MOX).png Fuel Rod (MOX) combined with high core temperature is used.

However, one can use Coolant cells to store heats then transfer heated coolant cells into a fluid reactor to power steam turbines

Fluid Reactor[edit]

In order to build Grid Reactor Pressure Vessel.png Fluid Reactor, you need to completely coat ordinary EU Reactor into a 5x5x5 hollow cube of lead blocks (Grid Reactor Pressure Vessel.png Reactor Pressure Vessel, Grid Reactor Access Hatch.png Reactor Access Hatch, Grid Reactor Fluid Port.png Reactor Fluid Port, Grid Reactor Redstone Port.png Reactor Redstone Port)

This type of reactor utilizes HU (Heat) yield of Grid Uranium Cell.png Uranium Cells.

All heat is transferred to Grid Hot Coolant.png Hot Coolant, which is the only product of such a Reactor.

In order to be transferred to Hot Coolant, Heat must be dissipated from the reactor by cooling components, meaning that the cooling problem is identical as it is for EU mode Reactor.

EU yield of Grid Uranium Cell.png Uranium Cells is ignored completely. This means that using Grid Fuel Rod (MOX).png Fuel Rod (MOX) combined with high core temperature is completely useless.

EU is generated by utilizing heat from Grid Hot Coolant.png Hot Coolant outside the Reactor. It is up to you how to generate power from heat. For example, Grid Steam Generator.png Steam Generator combined with Grid Kinetic Steam Generator.png Kinetic Steam Generator can be used.

The only way to extract HU (Heat) from Grid Hot Coolant.png Hot Coolant is by using Grid Liquid Heat Exchanger.png Liquid Heat Exchanger. It accepts Grid Hot Coolant.png Hot Coolant, transfers heat to the machine it faces with heat side and returns coolant back as (cold) Grid Coolant.png Coolant, which then must be returned back to the Reactor.

It is important to remember that Liquid Heat Exchanger will not work if the heat is not accepted from it by another machine (Steam Boiler, Stirling Generator, etc.)

Total dissipated heat from the Reactor is doubled. Then that doubled amount is transferred to Grid Hot Coolant.png Hot Coolant, 1 mB for each 20 HU.

For example, there is one Grid Dual Uranium Cell.png Dual Uranium Cell in the Reactor with 2 adjacent Grid Neutron Reflector.png Neutron Reflectors. This will generate 80 HU / tick. This amount then doubles and becomes 160 HU / tick. The

Reactor will produce 8 mB Grid Hot Coolant.png Hot Coolant / tick, which can be transferred back to 160 HU / tick using Grid Liquid Heat Exchanger.png Liquid Heat Exchanger.

Each Liquid Heat Exchanger is limited to handle 100 HU / tick. (5 mB of Grid Hot Coolant.png Hot Coolant / tick) This is because it has 10 slots for Grid Heat Conductor.png Heat Conductor, which transfers 10 HU / tick each.

For this example, 2 Grid Liquid Heat Exchanger.png Liquid Heat Exchangers are required to handle 160 HU / tick. One with 10 Grid Heat Conductor.png Heat Conductors and one with 6 Grid Heat Conductor.png Heat Conductors.

Safeguarding your reactor[edit]

Even a safe reactor design can be dangerous if misused, and honestly, what's the fun of a safe design when a dangerous one can be so much more efficient? But no one wants to see their base reduced to slag. There are ways to protect yourself in the event of a meltdown.

Planner[edit]

Rather than testing all of your ideas out next to your vault of diamonds, try using the planner. It's a Java application which allows you to test to see if a design will work before implementing it.

Dangers of reactor heat[edit]

As the reactor temperature rises, different bad things begin to happen. The exact heat effects for reactors are:

% of max hull heat Environmental effect
40% Flammable blocks within a 5x5x5 cube have a chance of burning.
50% Water blocks within a 5x5x5 cube (both sources and flowing) will have a chance of evaporating.
70% Entities within a 7x7x7 cube (instead of a 3x3x3 cube) will get hurt from the radiation exposure.
85% Blocks within a 5x5x5 cube have a chance of burning or turning into lava ('moving' lava only, no source blocks).
100% What environment? That hole in the ground?

Blast shields[edit]

Other than placing your reactor far, far away, the simplest way to protect yourself is to construct a strong wall between your reactor and your base. This may mean encasing the whole reactor room, or just the side facing your stuff. In either case, a three meter thick wall of reinforced stone or glass will suffice to contain even the most devastating reactor meltdown.

Plating[edit]

Another way to protect yourself is to place reactor plating components into your reactor.

Grid Reactor Plating.png Reactor Plating
This component will increase your reactors maximum temperature by 1000 and will reduce the reactor's explosion range by 5%.
Grid Containment Reactor Plating.png Containment Reactor Plating
This component will increase your reactors maximum temperature by 500 and will reduce the reactor's explosion range by 10%.
Grid Heat-Capacity Reactor Plating.png Heat-Capacity Reactor Plating
This component will increase your reactor's maximum temperature by 1700 but will only decrease the explosive range by 1%
name maximum reactor temperature explosion range
Reactor Plating +1000 -5%
Containment Reactor Plating +500 -10%
Heat-Capacity Reactor Plating +1700 -1%

Reactor Classification[edit]

All reactor designs fall into a set of pre-defined categories. This makes it easier to see, at a glance, how effective a design can be when either looking up designs on the IC forums or posting a design yourself.

Mark level[edit]

Reactors are classified first by how much they can operate. This is known as their mark.

Mark I[edit]

Mark I reactors generate no excess heat each reactor tick and thus are safe to use continuously for as long as you supply Uranium. Mark Is tend have a low efficiency, but that's the price of a completely safe reactor.

Mark Is have two sub-classes: Mark I-I for design that do not rely in outside cooling in anyway and Mark I-O for those that do.

Mark II[edit]

Mark II designs produce a small amount of excess heat and will need to be given a cool down period eventually to prevent the hull reaching 85% maximum heat or melting component. A Mark II must complete at least one full cycle before encountering heat problems.

The sub-class for Mark IIs denote how many cycles the design can run before reaching critical heat levels. For example Mark II-3 will need a cool down period after running 3 cycles in a row. Mark II s that can run 16 times or more get the special sub-class 'E' (Mark II-E) for almost being a Mark I.

Mark III[edit]

Mark III reactors tend to have an emphasis on efficiency at the cost of safety. Mark IIIs are unable to complete a full cycle without going into meltdown and thus need to be shutdown mid-cycle in order to deal with the high amount of excess heat. This can be done manually or by using Redstone.

Mark IIIs have the additional condition that they must run at least 10% of a cycle (16 mins 40 secs) before reaching critical heat or losing any components.

Mark IV[edit]

Mark IVs still have to run at least 10% of a cycle, just like Mark IIIs. The difference being that Mark IVs are allowed to lose components to overheating, and that must be replaced before the reactor goes critical.

Mark V[edit]

Mark Vs are for those who want to squeeze every last scrap of EU from their uranium cells; they cannot run long without needing a cool down period. You'd better have great Redstone timer skills, or you'll never be able to turn your back on these things.

Suffixes[edit]

The reactor's mark leaves much unsaid. Specific properties of the reactor (such as single-use coolants which need to be replaced during operation) are described with suffixes

As well as being Mark I to V, reactor designs also have one or more suffixes to better inform people about their performance.

Single Use Coolants (SUC)
A reactor that relies on a supply of condensator or any other consumable in order to maintain its classification should be suffixed with '-SUC'.
Breeder
This suffix is for designs that also recharges isotope cells. Isotope cells charge up faster when the reactor runs hot, so heat management is important. There are three breeder types:
  • Negative-Breeders slowly lose heat over time and will need heat to be added manually, or they can be left for a safe slow way to recharge isotopes.
  • Equal-Breeders have exactly the same heat generation as they do cooling ability and usually only require a user to boost the reactor's heat level manually at the beginning.
  • Positive-Breeders gain heat over time and will require more precise cool down management for the reactor to remain hot.
Reactors whose sole purpose is to recharge cells may not even have a 'Mark' classification and are simply called Breeders instead, with the efficiency/SUC suffix added.

Efficiency[edit]

The efficiency of a reactor is also appended to its classification. To calculate efficiency, take the number of uranium pulses a design makes per tick and divide it by the number of uranium cells it possesses. Efficiencies of five or greater are not possible without neutron reflectors and/or dual or quad cells, which were introduced in 1.106.

The number provided will show the efficiency rating a design has:
Number Rating
Exactly 1 EE
1 < eff < 2 ED
2 ≤ eff < 3 EC
3 ≤ eff < 4 EB
4 ≤ eff < 5 EA
5 ≤ eff < 6 EA+
6 ≤ eff < 7 EA++
7 EA*


Pre 1.106[edit]

For information on nuclear reactor mechanics and components for old versions of IC2Experimental (pre-Minecraft 1.3) and IC2, see Old Reactor Mechanics and Components. Note that cooling has changed significantly, so if you're used to an old version of IC2, be sure to read about the new mechanics carefully!


GUI


This is the new GUI (fully upgraded with 6 additional Reactor Chambers):


























Don't think about using them as a mad scientist's large chest; a reactor will spit out any item that is unrelated to its function. (Other than empty buckets.)

HAYO[edit]

IT'S TIME FOR THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION, HAYO!


And since there's no revolution without sacrifices, we shall now remain quiet for 2 ticks to show our sympathy towards a lone, unnamed engineer, who managed to obtain the ultimate blueprints of Nuclear Engineering. There, silence done, let's check out the blueprints! >>ACCESS GRANTED<<

Step I: Craft the future

First of all, you will need to craft a Nuclear Reactor itself. Of course you can't just summon a complex Reactor out of some iron and other stuff! That would be unrealistic. Instead, you first need to craft Nuclear Chambers. These chambers are, duh, CHAMBERS. Accordingly, you merely need a Machine Block and a half'o'stack of Copper. How to craft 33 elements together? Well, use your head, it's all about compressing numbers into quality.

(Be advised, I do not take any responsibility to injuries taken due attempts to compress Coppy by hammering it with your head.)

After you successfully crafted three, not two, not four, but three, to be spelled, 3, which is the number following after the 2 and going before 4, chambers, you can now easily create a Nuclear Reactor, by combining the side-wards aligned Chambers with a Generator below and an advanced Circuit above. You say that's much easier then before? Well, I say HAYO. Due to improvements in various blueprints, we managed to cut down useless wasted resources by 2%, resulting in the new and awesomely cheap recipe. Once you craft your Reactor, it's already fully operational. Placing it down can be done anywhere, since the new Copper-based isolation will ensure the Reactor to be 100% immune to outward influences, accordingly it does neither heat up or cool down by itself or by surrounding blocks.

As you knew from before, a simple Reactor only contains 3 chambers and accordingly offers you 3 columns of space for installment of your personalized reactor setup. You can expand this setup to up to 9 columns by placing more chambers (for the math-weak of you: 6) adjacent to the Nuclear Reactor core.

Unless you intend to use your Reactor as hayo-ish replacement for a TNT-cannon, I advise to use Reinforced Stone to encase the Reactor in a resistant layer to ensure minimal area destruction in case of 'slight miscalculations'.


Part II: Uranium and you (the radiated individual)

Of course the fuel, the source of energy, the symbol of life, the ultimate answer to the question of the sense of life, the universe and how to obtain enough power for everything else, is Uranium. Mined as raw chunks, compressed into craftable Brickets, filled into strangely durable tin cells, you obtain Uranium cells.

Be advised that, for your own security, Uranium cells do only do 'something' when the reactor is receiving a direct redstone signal.

Uranium cells last for 10,000 seconds (and accordingly 10,000 ReactorTicks) each. The lifetime of an Uranium cell is considered 'one reactor cycle'.

Uranium cells constantly and reliably (why? who cares?!) 'pulse' every full second. Every pulse causes Uranium cells to send out a load of neutrons, whilst consuming 1/10000th of themselves. Due to the critical-mass-of-compressed-uranium-in-small-tin-cells-for-whatever-reasons-hayo-rule, only a fraction of the Neutrons will actually cause Nuclear Reaction within the cell (Reactions are good, they produce energy!).

In effect, this causes a single cell to merely produce one 'pulse' of energy. Every pulse of energy produces enough useable heat for the Nuclear Reactor to produce 100 EU, spread out amongst the next 20 ticks, effectively granting 5 EU/t.

However, if you place Uranium Cells adjacent to other Uranium Cells, the normally 'lost' Neutrons will hit the adjacent Uranium Cell, creating another pulse (for each adjacent Uranium cell). Therefore, 2 neighbouring cells will create a total of FOUR pulses, as opposed to two pulses if they are separated.

This is called 'efficiency'. Since the lifetime of a cell is not dependant on the amount of pulses it effectively creates (but on its 10k second lifetime, duh), one piece of Uranium can produce 1 or x million EU. Naturally, you will want a higher efficiency to maximize the energy gain of your Reactor.

However, the more efficient a cell is, the higher is the not-useable heat produced by it. Whilst useable heat is good, unuseable heat is not. It's like the dark side of good heat, just without cookies. A cell creating 5 EU/t will produce 4 heat per second. 10 EU/t produce 12hps. 15 is 24hps, 20 is 40hps, etc... You will shortly learn how to deal with reactor heat.

Lastly, it should be mentioned there are theoretical approaches to condense more Uranium into less space. Of course way too dangerous to attempt this in practical applications, condensing Uranium Cells into more compact arrangements would permit users to reduce the amount of slots needed for actual Uranium Cells. Additionally, it would permit the Uranium Cells to more effectively use its own emitted Neutrons.

For example, a theoretical setup of a 'Dual Uranium Cell' would not just produce twice as much energy (and heat) compared to a single cell, but it would additionally pulse by itself TWO TIMES (per cell element!), for a total of up to 6 pulses per Neutron emission. With a 'Quad Uranium Cell', this would even increase to a maximum of 7 pulses, the highest efficiency theoretically possible. Though such a setup would create whopping 448 heat per second... which isn't exactly hayo...

Part III: Reactors in heat. ... Wait a second...

A reactor can only take so much heat before it will start melting and finally explode (which is a safety measure to prevent in from leaking dangerous radioactivity). Per default, the reactor hull can survive up to 10k heat without lasting damage. However, as the reactor's temperature rises, it will start affecting its surrounding. Reactor heat can set wooden structures ablaze, melt stone into lava and harm living beings. It is ill-advised to approach hot reactors without full Hazmat-Equipment.

To prevent the reactor hull from heating up, you can make use of various Reactor Components. The most simple of those are Coolant Cells. Uranium Cells emit heat to all surrounding components (which can accept it) and will only heat the hull itself if there is no (suitable) component present. For example, a Uranium Cell surrounded by four other cells will always heat the reactor hull.

Coolant Cells can be constructed in multiple layers of coolant water, permitting the cells to store 10k, 30k or even hayoish 60k of heat. However, by themselves these cells do merely STORE the heat, but don't DISSIPATE any heat and will eventually melt as well (causing the cells to heat the hull again).

For this reason, I hereby present you: HeatSwitches (commonly known as HD or HeatDissipator, HeatDistributer and Strange-Thing-Which-Can-Magically-Alter-Temeperatures).

The standard HeatSwitch can store 2500 heat, has a 'sideTransfer rate' of 12 and a 'coreTransfer rate' of 4.

All HeatSwitches work the same way: They calculate the % of heat stored in all surrounding tiles, themselves and the reactor hull, calculate a median and then attempt to reach that median on all components. A heatSwitch will first shift around (component <-> switch) the heat of adjacent components, to a max of sideTransfer. Then he will try to balance the heat between itself and the reactor to a max of coreTransfer.

The 'Core Heat Switch' does have a sideTransfer rate of 0 (thus no heat balance between adjacent components), but a coreTransfer rate of 72, and a maxHeat of 5000.

The 'Spread Heat Switch' does not have a coreTransfer, but instead 36 sideTransfer, and a maxHeat of 5000.

Lastly, the 'Diamond Heat Switch' has a sideTransfer of 24 and a coreTransfer of 8, and a maxHeat of 10000.

Opposed to the old HD's, the switches do NOT dissipate heat, have a LOW heat storage and do go by %, not my static values. F.e. you have a core heat switch (5000 max) and a reactor with some plating (20000 max). The system has a total of 5000 heat. The switch will balance 1000 heat to itself and 4000 to the reactor, resulting in 20% heat for itself and the reactor.

Now you can spread heat through all reactor components and balance it amongst all storage units. But unless you intend to constantly replace the storage components, the heat will merely accumulate all over the time. To solve this, our engineers designed HeatVents (aka Vents, Heat Ventilation, Ventilators, Fans, Followers...).

Vents have a maxHeat of 1000 and a 'selfCooling rate' and a 'reactorTransfer rate'.

A vent will always first draw heat from the reactor in height of it's reactorTransfer rate, regardless of it's own heat level. They do not 'balance' as heatSwitches do. Second, they will reduce their own heat by the selfCooling rate, venting the heat into the air = Mystically gone.

'Basic Vents' merely have a selfVent of 6.

'CoreVents' have 5 selfVent and 5 reactorTransfer (effectively applying continuous -5Heat/tick to the reactor hull.

'Golden CoreVents' are tricky to use. They provide an amazing 20 selfCooling, but have 36 reactorTransfer. Effectively, this means they will always melt themselves if the reactor has enough heat avaible. It's up to you to figure out how to use them properly.

'Diamond Vents' have 12 selfCooling, but 0 reactorTransfer again.

There is one special, the 'SpreadVent'. It can NOT take up any heat. However, it automatically cools down all adjacent components by 4 per tick.


Part IV: Have your uranium breed itself

By now, you should have run low on Uranium supplies. But luckily, we still have Breeding to re-enrich and reuse spent Uranium!

Whenever a Uranium Cell is used up, it has a 25% chance to turn into a Depleted Uranium Cell without enough uraniumized remains to be recycled. Refilling such a depleted cell with Coal Dust will provide the necessary raw material, resulting in an 'Isotope Cell'.

During normal Reactor operations, Uranium Cells send out Neutrons every full seconds (as mentioned above). If an Isotope Cell is struck by 10000 Neutrons, it will turn into an Re-Enriched Isotope Cell. Combine this result with some more coal dust and it will turn into a fully useable Uranium Cell again.

The process of re-enriching Isotope Cells, however, creates the same amount of heat as the interaction between Uranium Cells, WITHOUT actually producing the according energy. But considering you can obtain a full new Uranium Cell as a 'byproduct' it should still pay out. That's the way of Nuclear Engineering, GangnamHAYO style.

Even better though, the re-enrichment of Isotopes by Neutrons seems to be temperature-dependant. For each 3000 units of heat, basing on the reactor hull, there will be one additional Neutron affecting the Isotope. Accordingly, breeding Uranium with reactors on higher temperatures (f.e. 9001 heat) is much more effective (f.e. 4x fast).

However, with all your awesome coolant engineering... how could a reactor possibly heat up that much? The solution has a name: Lava Buckets Heating Cells!

Heating Cells, also known as HeatPacks, are special components, harnessing the intense heat of lava to act as UNDIMINISHING source of heat. These things are sort of cheap and stackable. Placing them inside of a reactor will cause them to heat up all surrounding components by 'stackSize' (=the amount of heat cells placed into the same slot).

They will keep doing that, until the components heat level reached stackSize*1000. This way you can easily configure your reactor to remain on a specific heat level.

Be advised you should use coolant cells next to the heat packs, as heating f.e. vents to 30k doesn't really work. At least not for me, HAYO.


Part V: How to turn your Reactor from hayo to HAYO!

You probably are asking, right now, 'What the hell? How can a reactor possible contain the heat necessary for successful breeding?!'

The answer is Plating. There are three kinds of plating.

The 'Integrated Plating' increases the maximum amount of heat your Reactor can contain by 1000. Additionally, it serves as a buffer and stabilizer in case of emergencys, and will reduce a Reactor's explosion range by 5%. Since this is real life and not some exploitable computer game, using 20 platings will NOT make your reactor unexplodeable, don't try! Additionally, it reduces the strength of heat-based reactor effects (burning your cookies and setting your factory ablaze) to the same degree.

There are, additionally, two modified Plating versions. The 'Heat Plating' grants +2000 maxHeat, but only a 1% modifier, whilst the 'Explosive Plating' grants only +500 maxHeat, but a 10% reduction.

Platings DO NOT take or redistribute any sort of heat and accordingly can be safely carried in larger stacks. These stacks (opposed to HeatPacks) don't influence the way they work, though.

And, to make things even 'more better', you can now directly enhance the effectivity of single Uranium Cells WITHOUT the use of other Uranium Cells, by the use of Reflectors.

Neutron Reflectors. As their name implies, they will 'reflect lost Neutrons', causing Uranium Cells to pulse equally as if they would be surrounded by more Uranium. Whilst this increases the Uranium Cells heat output, the Neutron Reflector itself will of course not produce additionally heat (opposed to a second Uranium Cell).

Neutron Reflectors have a limited life length of 10000 ticks. You can, however, craft a 'Thick Neutron Reflector' with a lifetime of 40k ticks. Be advised: Neutron Reflecters surrounded by multiple cells will diminish faster (2 cells adjacent to the same reflector will deplete it in half of a cell cycle).

To give you an example of this astonishing technology: Surrounding a single uranium cell with 4 Reflectors will grant it efficiency class 5.

And if all these methods just don't cut it: Condensators.

Condensators are special tools to reduce Reactor heat. They come as Redstone and Lapis Lazuli versions (latter one being an upgrade of former).

Condensators will accept any amounts of heat from surrounding components (though they don't balance heat around themselves), and INSTANTLY disperse the heat by using their fuel. Yes, you heard right: INSTANT dispersion of UNLIMITED amounts of heat. Effecively a black hole. For heat. Within your Nuclear Reactor. Uhm... HAYO!

A Redstone Condensator can absorb 20k heat, refilling it (crafting) with redstone will restore 10k of its capacity.

Lapis Lazuli Condensators can absorb 100k heat, redstone refills 5k and Lapis Lazuli 40k.

Part VI: Last and most likely least...

Due to copyright issues and nostalgic ideals, it's still recommended to use the 'old' system of labelling your Reactor designs. You can find the somewhat outdated notes here: Handbook for Reactor-Labelling.

History[edit]

Version Changes
Industrial Craft²
0.90 Nuclear Reactors are re-released as part of the 1st Nuclear Revolution. Their recipes then were:


Grid Copper.png


Grid Copper.png
Grid Advanced Alloy.png
Grid Copper.png


Grid Copper.png


Grid Integrated Reactor Plating.png

Grid Copper.png
Grid Cooling Cell.png


Grid Advanced Circuit.png
Grid Integrated Reactor Plating.png


Grid Copper.png
Grid Cooling Cell.png


Grid Integrated Heat Disperser.png

Grid Advanced Alloy.png
Grid Integrated Reactor Plating.png
Grid Advanced Alloy.png
Grid Integrated Heat Dispenser.png
Grid Machine.png
Grid Integrated Reactor Plating.png
Grid Advanced Alloy.png
Grid Integrated Reactor Plating.png
Grid Advanced Alloy.png
Grid Reactor Chamber.png

Grid Advanced Alloy.png
Grid Reactor Chamber.png
Grid Advanced Alloy.png
Grid Advanced Circuit.png
Grid Generator.png
Grid Advanced Circuit.png
Grid Advanced Alloy.png
Grid Reactor Chamber.png
Grid Advanced Alloy.png
Grid Nuclear Reactor.png

1.106 Nuclear Reactors had their recipe changed again as part of the 2nd Nuclear Revolution and works totally differently.


Grid Dense Copper Plate.png


Grid Dense Copper Plate.png
Grid Machine.png
Grid Dense Copper Plate.png


Grid Dense Copper Plate.png


Grid Reactor Chamber.png


Grid Reactor Chamber.png


Grid Advanced Circuit.png
Grid Reactor Chamber.png
Grid Generator.png


Grid Reactor Chamber.png


Grid Nuclear Reactor.png

2.? (experimental) Reactor Chambers use lead plates instead of dense copper plates. Reactor use Dense Lead Plates in the corners as well.
Grid Dense Lead Plate.png
Grid Reactor Chamber.png
Grid Dense Lead Plate.png
Grid Advanced Circuit.png
Grid Reactor Chamber.png
Grid Generator.png
Grid Dense Lead Plate.png
Grid Reactor Chamber.png
Grid Dense Lead Plate.png
Grid Nuclear Reactor.png


Grid Lead Plate.png


Grid Lead Plate.png
Grid Machine.png
Grid Lead Plate.png


Grid Lead Plate.png


Grid Reactor Chamber.png