Question 7.2: Verify that if the value of ν for Plutonium-239 is 2.871, th......

Introduction to Nuclear Reactor Physics [1368692]

Verify that if the value of ν for Plutonium-239 is 2.871, then the value of η for Plutonium-239 must be 2.106.

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From Table 7.9, the capture-to-fission ratio for Plutonium-239 or α is 0.362. Therefore, η = ν/(1 + α) = 2.871/ (1.362) = 2.108.

TABLE 7.9
Nuclear Data for the Thermal Neutron Fission of Several Isotopes at E = 0.025 eV
Nuclear Fuel	Capture-to-Fission Ratio (α = $σ_c/σ_f$ )	Number of Neutrons Produced per Neutron Absorbed (η)	Number of Neutrons Produced per Fission (ν)
U-233	0.089	2.287	2.492
U-235	0.169	2.068	2.418
U-238	1.811	0.300	2.600
Pu-239	0.362	2.108	2.871
Pu-241	0.359	2.145	2.917
Source: Lamarsh, J.R., Introduction to Nuclear Reactor Theory, second printing, Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, Inc., Reading, MA, 1972.

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