If you’re anything like me, you’ve probably wondered how a nuclear reactor works.

When you look at pictures nuclear power plants, questions must march through your head. Why are some of them shaped like weather balloons? How do they keep the fuel safe?

The University of New Mexico library maintains an extensive collection of wall charts depicting nuclear reactors from all over the world with their innards exposed in exquisite, three-dimensional detail.

The drawings were produced from the 1950s to the 1990s by Nuclear Engineering International as an insert in their magazine, and were often on display in nuclear engineers’ offices.

Via Gizmodo for lots more.