Chain Reaction Dominoes

Try to model the figures using dominoes.

You will need the following equipment:

We model a controlled chain reaction where only one neutron goes on to interact with the next fissile nuclei, this can be modelled as a simple linear chain of dominoes.

We model the uncontrolled reaction when two or more neutrons can go on to interact with a fissile nuclei. An example of how to set this up with two neutrons per reaction is below.

· dominoes

· stopwatch

There are 15 dominoes in each arrangement. Set them both up and start them off together. Which finishes first?

1. What does a longer time indicate, in terms of energy and power, for a real fission chain reaction?

2. How much space is used up in each reaction. How does this correlate to your understanding of critical mass?