By Mike Tobin, Fox News Correspondent

So, you’ve heard about nuclear fuel rods. You have heard about their melt-downs and understand that water is part of the solution to the crisis at Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi power plant. But have you ever seen the inside of a reactor, so you have a visual in your head for what all these nuke experts are talking about?

(Nuclear Reactor at Purdue University/Photo: FNC)

To see more behind-the-scenes photos, click “more.”

Purdue University has a working nuclear reactor in which students learn the science they need to keep America’s nuclear everything working.

(Inside a Nuclear Reactor at Purdue/Photo: FNC)

A professor by the name of Nader Satvat and the Radiation Safety Officer, Jim Schweitzer, gave me a crash course in nuclear science. They also explained why paper suits protect emergency workers who show up on the scene. They explained what is in that radioactive cloud that billowed up from the explosion and how desperate the Japanese are when they resort to dumping seawater on their own facility. These experts explained why taking iodine pills here in the US only benefits the guys who sell the pills. And as bad as things are in the plant, they gave a nice comforting message, that even if the nuclear material could travel to the U.S. by stratosphere, ocean current or fish, it would be so diluted by the time it reached our shores, it could cause no real harm.

(From Fox News producer Ruth Ravve: This is a picture inside the reactor when it was turned on. The picture was made with a timed exposure in a darkened room to enhance the light and color. Photo: FNC)

Watch the full report here: