Most power plants produce electricity by first boiling water to produce steam. The steam is used to spin a turbine. The shaft of the turbine spins the generator (a large coil of wire) between two magnets. The spinning coil of wire generates electricity. The main difference between a nuclear power plant and other kinds of power plants lies in the way the water is heated to steam. In a nuclear power plant, heat is produced by splitting atoms, rather than, for example, the combustion of oil, gas, or coal in a, respectively, oil-, gas-, or coal-fired plant.
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