Reactor

A reactor, also called a main reactor or reactor core, was a central power-generation device that was used in space stations and other spacefaring vehicles. The most common reactors included chemical, fission, and nuclear fusion reactors, and dated back to the Republic's earliest days. These reactors often required a variety of locally procured fuel sources, while larger starships often utilized hypermatter annihilation reactors, which generated vast amounts of power. Despite this, most fuel sources were hazardous to organic beings, circulating in ship systems as corrosive liquids or combustible and poisonous gases.

The Death Star and DS-2 Death Star II Mobile Battle Station, planet-destroying space stations built by the Galactic Empire, both had reactor cores that, when impacted with powerful enough weapons, would explode and destroy the station.

The axial superlaser affixed to Xyston-class Star Destroyers also had the power to disintegrate planets. Such immense power required it to be directly connected to the Star Destroyer's solar ionization reactor. Thus, severe damage to the superlaser would start a chain reaction that would overwhelm its host ship's reactor core and cause the warship's destruction.

Text and facts from the “Reactor” article on Wookieepedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0. Modified for this site.