Why is heavy water used as a moderator in a nuclear reactor Class 12?

Why is heavy water used as a moderator in a nuclear reactor Class 12?

State the reason, why heavy water is generally used as a moderator in a nuclear reactor.

What is a heavy water nuclear reactor?

Introduction. Heavy-water reactors (HWRs) are nuclear reactors that are moderated1 (and, possibly, also cooled) by heavy water. Heavy water, chemical formula D2O, differs from regular, or light, water, by having two deuterium atoms instead of the usual two hydrogen ones.

Why graphite or heavy water is used in nuclear reactor machine?

Heavy water is used in reactors because its benefits are similar to light water, but since it contains deuterium atoms, its neutron absorption cross section is much lower. The main disadvantage to the use of heavy water is its high cost of production, as it is made using the Girder-Sulfide process.

Is heavy water more effective solvent than ordinary water?

In nuclear reactors heavy water is used as a moderator. It has higher boiling point as compared to the ordinary water. Thus, it is more associated as compared to ordinary water. The dielectric constant is however higher for H2O, thus, H2O is a more effective solvent as compare to heavy water (D2O).

Is water used as moderator in nuclear reactor?

Hint: In a nuclear reactor, a process like nuclear fission occurs, where neutrons move very fast, so, water is used as a moderator to slow down the neutrons, so that the nuclear reaction sustains for efficient output.

What is heavy water and its uses?

Heavy water is used as a neutron moderator in nuclear reactors. Heavy Water is used for the preparation of Deuterium. Iso-topologues of many organic compounds are prepared with the help of deuterium oxide. Heavy water is used instead of normal water in IR (infrared) spectroscopy.

What is the function of heavy water in a nuclear reactor Mcq?

Heavy water is used in certain types of nuclear reactors, where it acts as a neutron moderator to slow down neutrons.

Why is heavy water important?

Heavy water is one of the two moderators that can be used which allow a nuclear reactor to operate using natural uranium. Deuterium works as a moderator as it absorbs fewer neutrons than hydrogen, which is extremely important as nuclear fission reactions require neutrons to carry out their chain reactions.

Why boron is used in nuclear reactor?

Boron is widely used in nuclear power as a neutron absorber material, thereby creating the possibility of controlling a nuclear reactor by changing the neutron multiplication factor.

Why is heavy water more associated than water?

Heavy water has a high boiling point as compared to ordinary water, hence we can say that heavy water is more associated as compared to ordinary water.

Is heavy water a better solvent?

Why d2o is called heavy water?

In heavy water, each hydrogen atom is indeed heavier, with a neutron as well as a proton in its nucleus. This isotope of hydrogen is called deuterium, and heavy water’s more scientific name is deuterium oxide, abbreviated as D20.

What is heavy water and what are its uses?

Heavy Water is used for the preparation of Deuterium.

  • As a tracer to study the mechanism of respiration,photosynthesis.
  • D 2 O is used in NMR (nuclear magnetic resonance) spectroscopy,which is used to observe the magnetic fields around the nuclei of atoms.
  • Isotopologues of many organic compounds are prepared with the help of deuterium oxide.
  • How do you make heavy water?

    To produce pure heavy water by distillation or electrolysis requires a large cascade of stills or electrolysis chambers, and consumes large amounts of power, so the chemical methods are generally preferred. The most important chemical method is the Girdler Sulfide process.

    Where is heavy water (D2O) found naturally?

    The heavy water is not manufactured, but rather it is extracted from the quantity that is found naturally in lake water. The water is separated through a series of towers, using hydrogen sulphide as an agent.

    What is heavy water used?

    Heavy water is used as coolant as well as moderator in pressurized Heavy Water Reactors. Apart from this polio vaccine can also be preserved in Heavy Water (D20). In Pressurized Heavy Water Reactor heat is produced when neutrons strike uranium atoms causing them to undergo fission in a continuous chain reaction.