Talk:Light-water reactor

Comments
In the current discussions concerning Iran, it is often mentioned like a potato that the world wishes Iran to use LWR because that would give Iran nuclear power without allowing them to use by-products to create nuclear weapons. Can information as to why LWR cannot produce bomb materials but HWR can be added to this article? Es330td 20:03, 2 June 2006 (UTC)
 * I think it's the opposite. The HWR, CANDU for example, doesn't require enriched fuel.  It uses natural uranium, or even recycled fuel from LWRs.  So the world is wishing for Iran to use HWRs. Santamoly (talk) 16:56, 17 March 2011 (UTC)
 * If you want plutonium, you'll get it. India's bomb came from heavy-water reactors. --Wtshymanski (talk) 18:55, 9 June 2011 (UTC)

The article currently states that "Operators of the BWR design use the coolant flow through the core to control reactivity by varying the speed of the reactor recirculation pumps. An increase in the coolant flow through the core improves the removal of steam bubbles, thus increasing the density of the coolant/moderator with the result of increasing power." It seems to me that the opposite would be true -- that increasing the coolant flow through the core and thereby decreasing the quantity of steam bubbles would increase the density of the coolant, thereby increasing the density of the reaction moderator, and thereby decreasing the output power. I haven't edited the article because I'm not certain of this, but I think it's a simple error of writing "increasing" when "decreasing" was meant.66.109.104.56 (talk) 17:25, 9 June 2011 (UTC)

Merge
The Light water page should be Merged to the Light water reactor page, for the simple reason that the term "light water" is used for Water and has no context outside of Light water reactors. The merge is a simple matter of transferring information and changing this page to a redirect. 24.126.199.129 08:00, 22 August 2006 (UTC)
 * See, no, it's not. If a mod could please help merge the current light water page here, that would be great. There's currently a talk page about light water reactors that's still stuck over there. -LlywelynII (talk) 10:12, 7 January 2011 (UTC)

Water radioactivity ?
Since the reactor uses water as a coolant, does it make the water radioactive (to some degree) ? This would present a significant problem if ie the water is released again into the sea, ... 81.243.177.146 (talk) 09:37, 11 April 2010 (UTC) The water is made radioactive, but since it is in the primary coolant loop it is not released back into the environment unless there is an accident which breaks the loop. Avram Primack (talk) 00:38, 17 October 2011 (UTC)

How can a pumpless light water reactor have a pump
The figure caption needs a better explanation of why it is pumpless when it clearly has a pump marked in it, or the word pumpless needs to be removed. I have removed it. If you put it back in you should be prepared to add the explanation. Avram Primack (talk) 00:38, 17 October 2011 (UTC)

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Other LWRs
The terms LWR and Light Water Reactor are to some extent ambiguous, the meaning depending on context. Not all LWRs in the more general sense are BWRs and PWRs.

See Open-pool Australian lightwater reactor for example. Andrewa (talk) 09:47, 21 February 2019 (UTC)

Article currently reads in part The light-water reactor (LWR) is a type of thermal-neutron reactor that uses normal water, as opposed to heavy water, as both its coolant and neutron moderator;.

That's probably true but misleading. OPAL (link above) has a heavy water reflector, and the reason for using heavy water there is its moderating effect, although it isn't officially a moderator. Andrewa (talk) 23:55, 26 October 2023 (UTC)