nuke
n.— «The only off-limits area: the massive nuclear reactor that powers the sub. “That’s our backbone right there,” said Machinist’s Mate 1st Class Roy Fenstermaker, pointing to the closed-door area where he and about 50 other “nukes,” as they call themselves, work on the nuclear elements.» —“Life aboard a nuclear sub” by Evan S. Benn Miami Herald (Florida) Apr. 27, 2005. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)