Question

How many fission takes place per second in a 300 MW reactor, assuming each fission releases 200 MeV of energy?

(a) 2.38 X 10^18

(b) 4.38 X 10^18

(c) 8.38 X 10^18

(d) 9.38 X 10^18

I had been asked this question in exam.

This interesting question is from Nuclear fission & Nuclear Reactor topic in section Quantum Physics of Engineering Physics I

Answer 1

Right option is (d) 9.38 X 10^18

To elaborate: Let n bet the number of fissions.

Energy released per second = 200 X 10^6 X 1.6 X 10^-19 X n J

= n X 3.2 X 10^-11 J

Power = Energy/Time

300 X 10^6  = n X 3.2 X 10^-11

n = 9.38 X 10^18.