A large heat exchanger designed to cool exhaust steam from a turbine below the boiling point so that it can be returned to the heat source as water. In a pressurized water reactor, the water is returned to the steam generator. In a boiling water reactor, it returns to the reactor core. The heat removed from the steam by the condenser is transferred to a circulating water system and is exhausted to the environment, either through a cooling tower or directly into a body of water.
