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Mechanical Engineering · Q4

Power Plant Engineering

Engineering and GATE · Mechanical Engineering · question 4

Q4

The size of the reactor is said to be critical when

A.
Chain reaction can be initiated
Answer
B.
It becomes uncontrollable
C.
It explodes
D.
It produces no power

Answer: Option A

Solution

Answer: Option A
Solution:
When the atom-splitting reactor of a nuclear power plant is operating normally, it is said to be “critical” or in a state of “criticality.”
Criticality means that a reactor is controlling a sustained fission chain reaction, where each fission event releases a sufficient number of neutrons to maintain an ongoing series of reactions. This is the normal state of nuclear power generation.