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Water is used as a coolant in a nuclear reactor because of its

Asked in Re-NEET 2024 · Reactors and conditions for fission and fusion

• (1) high thermal expansion coefficient
• (2) high specific heat capacity
• (3) low density
• (4) low boiling point

Step-by-step solution

Why the other options are wrong

• (1) Large expansion is no help in carrying heat away; water in fact expands little.
• (3) Water is not of low density; its value as a coolant lies in how much heat each kilogram absorbs.
• (4) A low boiling point would be a drawback, since the coolant would boil away; water's boiling point is not low, and reactors pressurise it to raise it further.

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