answersLogoWhite

0

The graphite acts as a moderator, to slow neutrons down. Most fission reactors work on the basis of slow or thermalised neutrons, though some have been built using fast neutrons. When the neutrons are ejected from the uranium nucleus as it fissions or splits, they come off at high speed, but in order to be captured by another nucleus of U-235 they need to be slowed down. This is simply a physical fact, U-235 captures slow neutrons much more readily than it does fast neutrons. Graphite was used in the first demonstration reactor in 1942 and in subsequent bigger reactors at Hanford Wa. It had to be made specially with very high purity to avoid absorbing too many neutrons.

Other moderators used are heavy water, as in CANDU reactors, and light water as in PWR. Light water absorbs more neutrons so the fuel has to be enriched in U-235.

User Avatar

Wiki User

16y ago

What else can I help you with?

Continue Learning about Physics

What is a graphite reactor?

A reactor using graphite as the moderator. This has the advantage that natural non enriched uranium can be used. The first reactors built in the WW2 project to produce plutonium were graphite, these were at Hanford. The idea was taken up in the UK and in France and pressurized reactors using CO2 coolant were developed, though these are now all obsolete. The trouble with graphite is it has a limited lifespan in the reactor, gradually eroding and so losing mechanical integrity. It also is a possible fire hazard, as graphite is flammable at temperatures reachable during a nuclear accident (as evidenced by the Chernobyl accident), particularly in oxygen and hydrogen-rich environments found inside such sealed reactors. Nevertheless in the UK the advanced gas cooled reactor was developed which used enriched fuel and higher gas temperature. These were eventually made to work quite well, but turned out too expensive to build compared with the simpler PWR and BWR types which now predominate.


What is the name of India's first nuclear reacter?

India's first nuclear reactor is called the Apsara reactor. It was commissioned in August 1956 at the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre in Mumbai.


Where was India's first nuclear reactor situated?

India's first nuclear reactor is situated in the ''Rajasthan, porbandar.''


Is kamini India's first atomic reactor?

From 'www.world-nuclear.org' I can find the following reactors which are in operation, but not one called 'Kamini'. The first on this list was TARAPUR in 1969 (BWR) Tarapur 1 and 2, Kaiga 1,2 and 3, Kakrapur 1 and 2, Kalpakkam 1 and 2, Narora 1 and 2, Rawatbhata 1,2,3 and 4, Tarapur 3 and 4. Apart from Tarapur 1 and 2, these are all PHWR type. Total capacity 3779 MWe. Perhaps Kamini was an experimental or small prototype reactor not in this list?


What is the original name of nuclear reactor?

The original name of a nuclear reactor is an "atomic pile". The term was first used by Enrico Fermi to describe the experimental setup of the first controlled nuclear chain reaction in Chicago during the Manhattan Project in the 1940s.

Related Questions

Inventor of atomic reactor?

The first inventor of a nuclear reactor was Enrico Fermi. Refer to link below.


Who was the italian immigrant who helped build the first atomic reactor?

Enrico Fermi


What is a graphite reactor?

A reactor using graphite as the moderator. This has the advantage that natural non enriched uranium can be used. The first reactors built in the WW2 project to produce plutonium were graphite, these were at Hanford. The idea was taken up in the UK and in France and pressurized reactors using CO2 coolant were developed, though these are now all obsolete. The trouble with graphite is it has a limited lifespan in the reactor, gradually eroding and so losing mechanical integrity. It also is a possible fire hazard, as graphite is flammable at temperatures reachable during a nuclear accident (as evidenced by the Chernobyl accident), particularly in oxygen and hydrogen-rich environments found inside such sealed reactors. Nevertheless in the UK the advanced gas cooled reactor was developed which used enriched fuel and higher gas temperature. These were eventually made to work quite well, but turned out too expensive to build compared with the simpler PWR and BWR types which now predominate.


What is the name of India's first nuclear reacter?

India's first nuclear reactor is called the Apsara reactor. It was commissioned in August 1956 at the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre in Mumbai.


What did scientists build under a football stadium at the University of Chicago?

Project Manhatten, the first atomic reactor.


What supplies did it take to invent nuclear fission?

The first reactor in 1942 was a simple pile of graphite with channels for the fuel elements, which were natural metallic uranium


Where was India's first nuclear reactor situated?

India's first nuclear reactor is situated in the ''Rajasthan, porbandar.''


Is kamini India's first atomic reactor?

From 'www.world-nuclear.org' I can find the following reactors which are in operation, but not one called 'Kamini'. The first on this list was TARAPUR in 1969 (BWR) Tarapur 1 and 2, Kaiga 1,2 and 3, Kakrapur 1 and 2, Kalpakkam 1 and 2, Narora 1 and 2, Rawatbhata 1,2,3 and 4, Tarapur 3 and 4. Apart from Tarapur 1 and 2, these are all PHWR type. Total capacity 3779 MWe. Perhaps Kamini was an experimental or small prototype reactor not in this list?


What was the function of graphite in the first atomic reaction?

Graphite was used as a moderator in the first atomic reaction to slow down neutrons released during the fission process. Slowing down the neutrons increases the likelihood of them causing further fission reactions, enabling a self-sustaining chain reaction.


What were some of the uses for the first nuclear reactor?

The very first nuclear reactor was Chicago Pile 1. It was built for research and scientific use. The first nuclear reactor outside of a university was built (at Hanford, Washington) primarily to yield plutonium for the atomic bomb destined for Nagasaki, Japan. Nuclear reactors were built primarily for electrical generation beginning in about 1951.


What is the original name of nuclear reactor?

The original name of a nuclear reactor is an "atomic pile". The term was first used by Enrico Fermi to describe the experimental setup of the first controlled nuclear chain reaction in Chicago during the Manhattan Project in the 1940s.


Why is Chernobyl so famous?

Because the world's worst nuclear reactor accident happened there. The reactor involved (a Soviet designed RBMK graphite moderated reactor) had many serious safety related design flaws, had been built in a rush to meet schedule deadlines without first having completed all safety related testing, and was undergoing a poorly planned and not properly reviewed test under the control of people with no knowledge of nuclear reactor principles (the man in charge of the test was only trained in hydroelectric dam principles). This was a setting for disaster and disaster was what they got. Skipping over the details: the reactor became unstable and impossible to control during the test, it experienced a sudden power surge, a steam explosion resulted which blasted the roof off the reactor building (no containment building existed in RBMKs), with hot graphite exposed to air the graphite ignited, the smoke from the graphite fire carried radioactive debris from the damaged core across Europe and eventually around the world. Hundreds of firefighters died of radiation poisoning from the exposure they got in trying to extinguish the burning graphite and other fires nearby that had been started by chunks of burning graphite thrown from the reactor in the blast. The surrounding land is slowly reverting to nature and has become a wildlife preserve, protected from human intrusion by the radioactivity.