/sci/ - Science & Math

My little cousin asked me why nuclear reactors are not bombs and I told him how the fuel is different and such. Then he asked me why the army doesn't use the nukes it has as batteries while not at war and I explained that you can't just plug a wire on a nuke and get power and all.

But now I got a big thonk. What would it take to turm your average 500kt nuke into a reactor? How hard would it be? Say you are on a post apocalyptic situation and need really reliable constant power and the nuke is just there. Could it be done? Just dismantle it and make a little core from the plutonium and have it go brrrrrr and heat water and shit?

I mean, it would obviously be a waste of plutonium and dangerous as fuck and the workers building it 100% gonna die of a Chernobyl special but could it be done? How effective could it be?