hifructosetrashjuice t1_ivtf9aw wrote on November 10, 2022 at 2:08 PM

Reply to comment by hifructosetrashjuice in Why do neutrons tend to interact more readily with light nuclei rather than heavy ones (i.e., why is water a better neutron shield than lead)? by Calgaris_Rex

also you need to keep your material chemically simple, because when interacting with neutron proton is kicked out of molecule. this leaves water, because all products of that can react back forming water again, same goes for hydrogen. this does not work for oil, for example, that is if you wanted to put oil in nuclear reactor for some reason