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Madison Co. Virginia | I was watching the linked video on the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, and was surprised by one of the statements. According to that professor, neutrons need to be slowed down to increase the chance of them causing fission. The material used to slow them down is called a "moderator." Chernobyl used blocks of graphite as the moderator, which were in close proximity to the fuel all the time. In contrast, pressurized water reactors use water as both the coolant and the moderator. He said that these PWR's are fail-safe, since if the cooling water drains away, the moderator is gone, and the fission stops. Is this true? Could our common US nuclear reactors lose all their coolant, and they'd simply stop generating heat?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bCbms6umE_o
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