chain reaction
16
4.5
- noun
- /tʃeɪn riˈækʃən/
- Specialized
:
reacción en cadena
- Fermi achieved the first chain reaction in the Chicago pile on 2 December 1942.
- nuclear chain reaction
- self-sustaining chain reaction
- fission chain reaction
The, the, the, the, the nuclear chain reaction is not going to stop.
- The, the, the, the, the nuclear chain reaction is not going to stop.
- That means fewer neutrons, and that slows down the chain reaction.
- In the reactor, the few rods are exposed to Newton radiation, which starts a control chain reaction.
Examples
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The nuclear age began on December 2, 1942, with the first controlled chain reaction that was produced by Enrico Fermi.
Academic text (1999) -
Plutonium can sustain a chain reaction and can be mined from the waste to make bombs.
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To produce a sustainable nuclear chain reaction, there must be more material than the minimum mass.
Academic text (1999) -
In a nuclear reactor, a sustained chain reaction is produced at a controlled rate.
Academic text (1999) -
We learned to control the chain reaction, creating heat to boil water and spin a turbine.
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A purer form of graphite and the right fuel might result in a self-sustaining chain reaction.
Academic text (2006) -
In the public imagination, nuclear power revolves around uncommon isotopes of uranium undergoing a controlled chain reaction, releasing energy.
Academic text (2012) -
In a nuclear reactor, a stable chain reaction converts nuclear energy into usable power.
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The scientists carefully monitored the chain reaction to ensure it remained under control during the experiment.
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Understanding how a chain reaction works is essential for developing safe nuclear energy technologies.
How Self-Sustaining
- Specialized
16
4.5
- Specialized
1
7.4
Surface Forms
Morphology
The compound combines 'chain' (a series of linked events) with 'reaction' (a chemical/process response), so the idea of a sequence of reactions where each triggers the next is directly derivable from its parts. This composition is cross-linguistically common (e.g. Spanish 'reacción en cadena') and follows standard noun-noun composition, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents would likely infer the meaning.
Etymology
Chain reaction comes from the image of a chain of events where one reaction sets off the next, like a line of falling dominoes. That's why in nuclear reactions one small event can start many more reactions that 'keep going on their own' and release a lot of energy.