--%>

Why is heavy water employed as a moderator

Describe why is heavy water employed as a moderator? Illustrate.

E

Expert

Verified

Heavy water is highly enriched in the hydrogen isotope deuterium. We can evaluate the neutron interactions with billiard ball collision, where the neutron collides with nucleus of other atoms and lose energy. When the colliding nucleus size is small such as hydrogen nucleus it will lose the maximum energy. When nucleus is heavy, then the neutron hits the nucleus just alters its direction however not that much change in the energy of neutron. Therefore we use heavy water as moderator to slow down the neutrons.

   Related Questions in Physics

  • Q : What is Laplace equation Laplace

    Laplace equation (P. Laplace): For the steady-state heat conduction in 1-dimension, the temperature distribution is the explanation to Laplace's equation, which defines that the second derivative of temperature with respect to displac

  • Q : Define Pauli Exclusion Principle Pauli

    Pauli Exclusion Principle (W. Pauli; 1925): No two similar fermions in a system, like electrons in an atom, can contain an identical set of the quantum numbers.

  • Q : Explain Thomson experiment or Kelvin

    Thomson experiment: Kelvin effect (Sir W. Thomson [later Lord Kelvin]): Whenever an electric current flows via a conductor whose ends are maintained at various temperatures, heat is discharged at a rate just about proportional to the

  • Q : Explain Michelson-Morley experiment

    Michelson-Morley experiment (A.A. Michelson, E.W. Morley; 1887): Probably the most famous null-experiment of all time, designed to confirm the existence of the proposed "lumeniferous aether" via which light waves were considered to pr

  • Q : Define Static limit Static limit : The

    Static limit: The distance from a rotating black hole where no spectator can possibly stay at rest (with respect to the far-away stars) since of inertial frame dragging; this area is external of the event horizon, apart from at the poles where it meet

  • Q : Explain Ideal gas equation Ideal gas

    Ideal gas equation: The equation that sums up the ideal gas laws in one simple equation, P V = n R T, Here V is the volume, P is the pressure, n is the

  • Q : Define Charles law Charles' law (J.A.C.

    Charles' law (J.A.C. Charles; c. 1787): The volume of an ideal gas at constant (steady) pressure is proportional to the thermodynamic temperature of that gas.

  • Q : What it means of Aberration Defining 

    Defining Aberration: The obvious change in the position of a light-emitting object due to the fidelity of the speed of light and the

  • Q : Explain Rydberg formula Rydberg formula

    Rydberg formula (Rydberg): The formula that explains all of the characteristics of hydrogen's spectrum, comprising the Balmer, Paschen, Lyman, Brackett, and Pfund sequence. For the transition between an electron in

  • Q : What do you mean by the term crest What

    What do you mean by the term crest? Briefly illustrate it.