طاقة حرارية
Traditionally, nuclear reactors use a coolant loop to heat water into steam, and use that steam to run turbines to generate electricity. Some gas-cooled reactor designs are meant to drive a gas-powered turbine, rather than boil water. Thermal energy can be used directly, without conversion. Heat can be used in hydrogen production and other commercial operations, such as desalination and the production of petroleum products (extracting oil from tar sands, creating synthetic oil from coal, etc.).