Control rods made of cadmium are suddenly inserted deeper into the core of a nuclear…
PHYSICS · Single correct · A Level · Physics · Nuclear physics · Nuclear physics
Problem
Control rods made of cadmium are suddenly inserted deeper into the core of a nuclear reactor that had been operating at steady power. What immediate qualitative effect will this have on the effective multiplication factor k and the power output?
(a) k remains exactly 1 and the power output stays unchanged
(b) k becomes less than 1 and the power output falls
(c) k becomes greater than 1 and the power output rises
(d) k becomes zero and the reaction stops instantaneously