--%>

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 Ultraviolet catastrophe

    Ultraviolet catastrophe: It is the shortcoming of Rayleigh-Jeans formula that attempted to explain the radiance of a blackbody at different frequencies of the electromagnetic spectrum. This was clearly wrong since as the frequency rose, the radiance r

  • Q : Define Watt or SI unit of power Watt: W

    Watt: W (after J. Watt, 1736-1819): The derived SI unit of power, stated as a power of 1 J acting over the period of 1 s; it therefore has the units of J/s.

  • Q : Anthropic principle What is  Anthropic

    What is Anthropic principle? Explain Weak anthropic principle and Strong anthropic principle?

    Q : Problem on Orbit cycle Calculate the

    Calculate the hot and cold temperature after 25 orbits. Assume a 100kg spherical spacecraft made of aluminum. Assume that the spacecraft is in an equatorial orbit. How is calculation 1 different for a spacecraft in a 90 degree (polar) orbit?

  • Q : Explain Gauss law for magnetic fields

    Gauss' law for magnetic fields (K.F. Gauss): The magnetic flux via a closed surface is zero (0); no magnetic charges present; in its differential form, div B = 0

  • Q : Heating a bucket of water than the cup

    Briefly describe the reason why it takes longer to heat a bucket of water than the cup of water?

  • Q : Define Van der Waals force Van der

    Van der Waals force (J.D. van der Waals): The forces responsible for non-ideal behavior of gases, and for lattice energy of molecular crystals. There are three main causes: dipole-dipole interaction; dipole-induced dipole moments; and dispersion a for

  • Q : What is Coriolis pseudoforce Coriolis

    Coriolis pseudoforce (G. de Coriolis; 1835): The pseudoforce that arises since of motion relative to a frame that is itself rotating relative to the second, inertial frame. The magnitude of the Coriolis "force" is tot

  • Q : Explain Youngs experiment or

    Young's experiment: double-slit experiment (T. Young; 1801): A well-known experiment that exhibits the wave nature of light (and certainly of other particles). The light is passed from a small source into an opaque screen with the two thin slits. The

  • Q : What are Woodward-Hoffmann rules

    Woodward-Hoffmann rules: The rules leading the formation of products throughout certain kinds of organic reactions.