ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Organic nuclear reactor

Ok kiddo, so you know how we use things like coal and gas to make electricity? Well some smart people thought, "What if we could make electricity without all the pollution from burning those things?" So they came up with the idea of using something called a nuclear reactor.

Now, a nuclear reactor is kinda like a big pot of soup. Instead of putting in vegetables and meat though, we put in something called uranium. Uranium is a special kind of metal that has a lot of energy locked up inside its tiny atoms.

So when we put the uranium in the reactor, we add some special things called control rods. These are like the spoon you use to stir your soup. The control rods help to control how much energy gets released from the uranium.

Now, this is where the "organic" part comes in. Some people thought, "What if we could make a nuclear reactor using organic materials? Like, things that are grown in a garden?" So they started experimenting with things like wood chips and dried leaves.

It turns out that some organic materials, like certain kinds of bacteria, can actually help to break down the uranium and release its energy. It's kind of like how your body breaks down food to make energy.

So an organic nuclear reactor is just a fancy way of saying that we're using natural materials to help make electricity. Pretty cool, huh?