reactor

Noun

reactor (plural reactors)

1. A person who responds to a suggestion, stimulation or other influence.
   • Altman seees his characters as total reactors; everything they do and say is in response to their environment. They do not seem to exist with lives or qualities of their own.1983 December 31, Michael Bronski, “A Sharply Focused Film”, in Gay Community News, volume 11, number 24, page 17
   • Here, humans are seen as active participants in all dimensions of their lives, throughout their life course, and not simply passive reactors to the world around them.2023, Anne L. Grauer, “Introduction” (chapter 1), in The Routledge Handbook of Paleopathology, Routledge, →DOI, →ISBN, page 7

   Synonyms:

   reacter

2. A structure used to contain chemical or other reactions.
3. (nuclear physics) A device which uses atomic energy to produce heat.
   • It limits the rights of nonweapon countries to develop an export business in civilian reactor technology.1972, Robert L Pfaltzgraff, Politics and the international system
   • It is hoped that a competition to develop small modular reactors (SMRs) will drive billions of pounds of investment into the technology, which the government hopes will be cheaper and quicker to build than traditional large nuclear power plants.2023 July 18, Joe Middleton, “Shapps announces £157m in grants at launch of new UK nuclear body”, in The Guardian

   Synonyms:

   nuclear reactor, atomic reactor

4. A chemical substance which responds to the presence of, or contact with, another substance.
5. An electrical component with reactance