Nuclear Reactor

A nuclear reactor containing only fuel elements would be unusable because a chain reaction could probably not be sustained within it. The reason is that nuclear fission occurs best with neutrons that move at relatively modest speeds, called thermal neutrons. But the neutrons released from fission reactions tend to be moving very rapidly, at about 1/15 the speed of light. In order to maintain a chain reaction, therefore, it is necessary to introduce some material that will slow down the neutrons released during fission. Such a material is known as a moderator.

The most common moderators are substances of low atomic weight such as heavy water (deuterium oxide) or graphite. Hydrides (binary compounds containing hydrogen), hydrocarbons, and beryllium and beryllium oxide have also been used as moderators in certain specialized kinds of reactors.