‘Criticality safety event’ occurred at LANL’s plutonium facility

Re:‘Criticality safety event’ occurred at LANL’s plutonium f... by soVeryTired on Sunday September 24, 2017 @12:41PM (#15325410)

I remember reading somewhere that water slows neutrons down enough to allow for a much lower critical mass.

I think it's in mentioned in Richard Feynman's account of his time in Loa Alamos in 'Surely you're joking Mr Feynman'.

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Re:‘Criticality safety event’ occurred at LANL’s plutonium f... by wereHamster on Sunday September 24, 2017 @03:32PM (#15326117)

Not just any water, only https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heavy_water has that property.

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Re:‘Criticality safety event’ occurred at LANL’s plutonium f... by philipkglass on Sunday September 24, 2017 @04:10PM (#15326293)

Heavy water is more effective, but light (ordinary) water moderates neutrons too. That's how light water reactors work: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Light-water_reactor

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