Question

How fast does a 2 MeV fission neutron travel through a reactor core?

Answer 1

The answer is
`1.956 * 10^7\ m/s`

Step-by-step explanation:

The amount of energy is not enough to apply the relativistic formula of energy
`E = mc^2`, so the definition of energy in this case is

`E = (1)/(2)m v^2`.

From the last equation,

`v= √(2E/m)`

where

`E = 2 MeV = 3.204 * 10^(-13) J`

and the mass of the neutron is

`m = 1.675* 10^(-27)\ Kg`.

Then

`v = 1.956 * 10^7\ m/s`

the equivalent of
`0.065` the speed of light.