Essential University Physics: Volume 1 (4th Edition)

Published by Pearson
ISBN 10: 0-134-98855-8
ISBN 13: 978-0-13498-855-9

Chapter 9 - For Thought and Discussion - Page 163: 5

Answer

Please see the work below.

Work Step by Step

We know that if we want to stop the neutrons in a reactor, we cannot use massive nuclei like lead. The reason behind this is that a small particle like a neutron strikes a large nuclei, and gets bounced off heavier nuclei with magnitude of same momentum. Thus, we need to use smaller nuclei to effectively reduce the velocity of neutrons.
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