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added risks of graphite
Heavy water has a high [[neutron]] opacity, which means that it can absorb a large amount of neutrons without major damage to its chemical structure. During [[World War II]], the [[Germany|German]] [[Nazi]] government used heavy water to moderate their [[nuclear reactor]]s in their experiments to try to develop an [[atomic bomb]]. However, a raid on a heavy water plant in [[Norway]] greatly hindered the German efforts. Beside this, the Americans working on the [[Manhattan Project]] learned that [[graphite]] could moderate nuclear reactions much more efficiently than heavy water, and it had the added benefit of being a [[solid]], making it far easier to handle.
Heavy water has a high [[neutron]] opacity, which means that it can absorb a large amount of neutrons without major damage to its chemical structure. During [[World War II]], the [[Germany|German]] [[Nazi]] government used heavy water to moderate their [[nuclear reactor]]s in their experiments to try to develop an [[atomic bomb]]. However, a raid on a heavy water plant in [[Norway]] greatly hindered the German efforts. Beside this, the Americans working on the [[Manhattan Project]] learned that [[graphite]] could moderate nuclear reactions much more efficiently than heavy water, and it had the added benefit of being a [[solid]], making it far easier to handle.
However, being [[flammable]] makes [[graphite]] more dangerous to use. The most dramatic example of this danger is the disaster at the [[Chernobyl]] power plant. A mishap in a plant using heavy water can theoretically be a "self-solving problem," as it is non-flamable.
[[Category:Chemistry]]
[[Category:Chemistry]]