Talk:Doppler broadening

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[edit] Merge

This article should be merged with "Doppler Profile" I've put the notice on the frontpage. --ScienceApologist 23:35, 18 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Request for expert in physics

I am a bit confused by the claim that Doppler broadening is going to make Pebble-bed reactors safer. As far as I can tell, Doppler broadening occurs whenever there is U²³⁸, which means it must have occurred in any reactor, including Chernobyl's fourth (if anything, RBMK's have more U²³⁸ than average since they run on natural uranium).

Indeed, Doppler broadening is not mentioned in the Web pages of PBMR, the South African manufacturer: they claim simply that the PBMR is safer because it cannot get hot, never mentioning the word "Doppler". Basically, they claim it is safer because it has a low energy density in the core (and, even if they do not say it clearly, because pebble-bed reactors will be cooled with open air in case of accident. That or a piece of the wall is missing from their diagrams).

So, can any expert tell me whether Doppler broadening can be played with as it is claimed?

Also, it would be nice to know when the effect was discovered. I was reading Schultz's Control of Nuclear Reactors and Power Plants from 1955, and he would only say there was a "negative temperature coefficient" but not its cause.