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The multiplication factor, k, is defined as (see nuclear chain reaction): k = number of neutrons in one generation / number of neutrons in preceding generation If k is greater than 1, the chain reaction is supercritical, and the neutron population will grow exponentially.
The "Six-factor formula" is the neutron life-cycle balance equation, which includes six separate factors, the product of which is equal to the ratio of the number of neutrons in any generation to that of the previous one; this parameter is called the effective multiplication factor k, also denoted by K eff, where k = Є L f ρ L th f η, where ...
The multiplication factor is sometimes calculated with a simplified four-factor formula, which is the same as described above with and both equal to 1, and is used when an assumption is made that the reactor is "infinite" in that neutrons are very unlikely to leak out of the system.
In thermal neutron reactors, the main resonant neutron absorber is Uranium-238. In the table for 238 U, several resonance neutron energies E r, the maximum absorption cross sections σ a, r in the peak, and the width G of these resonances are given.
The ICRP 2007 standard values for relative effectiveness are given below. The higher radiation weighting factor for a type of radiation, the more damaging it is, and this is incorporated into the calculation to convert from gray to sievert units. The radiation weighting factor for neutrons has been revised over time and remains controversial.
A numerical measure of a critical mass depends on the effective neutron multiplication factor k, the average number of neutrons released per fission event that go on to cause another fission event rather than being absorbed or leaving the material. A subcritical mass is a mass that does not have the ability to sustain a fission chain reaction ...
The atomic form factor depends on the type of scattering, which in turn depends on the nature of the incident radiation, typically X-ray, electron or neutron. The common feature of all form factors is that they involve a Fourier transform of a spatial density distribution of the scattering object from real space to momentum space (also known as ...
The Segrè chart may be considered a map of the nuclear valley. The region of proton and neutron combinations outside of the valley of stability is referred to as the sea of instability. [4] [5] Scientists have long searched for long-lived heavy isotopes outside of the valley of stability, [6] [7] [8] hypothesized by Glenn T. Seaborg in the ...