What makes the best moderators in nuclear power plant?
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What makes the best moderators in nuclear power plant?
Explanation: Function of moderator is to reduce the energy of fast neutrons to thermal neutrons. Speed of the neutrons is reduced within a small number of collisions as the moderator possesses a high scattering cross section. Materials with low atomic mass number make best moderators. 5.
What is the best nuclear moderator?
Hydrogen works well as a neutron moderator because its mass is almost identical to that of a neutron. This means that one collision will significantly reduce the speed of the neutron because of the laws of conservation of energy and momentum. In addition, light water is abundant and fairly inexpensive.
Is carbon a good moderator?
Graphite is also a very effective moderator. Carbon is a very stable nucleus reluctant to accept a new neutron. When enriched uranium became available as fuel, ordinary water became suitable as a moderator and a coolant. Most existing reactors usually operate now with pressurized or boiling water.
Why is graphite used as a moderator in nuclear reactor?
The graphite bricks act as a moderator. They reduce the speed of neutrons and allow a nuclear reaction to be sustained.
Which moderator used in nuclear reactor?
Water (sometimes called “light water” in this context) is the most commonly used moderator (roughly 75\% of the world’s reactors). Solid graphite (20\% of reactors) and heavy water (5\% of reactors) are the main alternatives.
Which material is used as moderator in nuclear reactor?
In 1940 he discovered that beryllium is a good moderator (a material that slows down fast neutrons so they more readily split uranium atoms), and it has since been widely used in nuclear reactors.
Is carbon a moderator in a nuclear reactor?
“Graphite reactor” directs here. A graphite-moderated reactor is a nuclear reactor that uses carbon as a neutron moderator, which allows natural uranium to be used as nuclear fuel.
Which one is used as a moderator in nuclear reactor?
Heavy water
Heavy water is used as a moderator in nuclear reactors.
What is the role of moderator in nuclear reactor?
Slow neutrons strike nuclei of uranium-235, causing the nuclei to fission, or split, and release fast neutrons. The fast neutrons are absorbed or slowed by the nuclei of a graphite moderator, which allows just enough slow neutrons to continue the fission chain reaction at a constant rate.