How boron carbide is used to control nuclear fission
Boron carbide can effectively absorb nuclear neutrons without forming any radioisotopes, so it is an ideal neutron absorber in nuclear power plants, and neutron absorbers mainly control the rate of nuclear fission. In the field of application, boron carbide can be made of nuclear reactor control rods to control the speed of nuclear reaction, and can also be made into storage barrels of nuclear waste, concrete infrastructure of nuclear power plants, and nuclear radiation shielding clothing to achieve the effect of shielding nuclear radiation. In the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear accident, Russia dropped nearly 2,000 tons of boron carbide and sand before finally stopping the chain reaction in the reactor. It can be seen that the development of the nuclear industry is inseparable from boron carbide.
