Nuclear reactor which produce delayed neutrons have half lives for their decay by neutron emission that range from milliseconds to as long as several minutes, and so considerable time is required to determine exactly when a reactor reaches the critical point. Keeping the reactor in the zone of chain-reactivity where delayed neutrons are "necessary" to achieve a critical mass state allows mechanical devices or human operators to control a chain reaction in "real time"; otherwise the time between achievement of criticality and nuclear meltdown as a result of an exponential power surge from the normal nuclear chain reaction, would be too short
Flooding (nuclear reactor core) (or other) flow regime. The significance of this phenomenon is that, if not properly designed for, it can present issues when trying to fill the core with liquid (the phenomenon works against gravity, forcing liquid out of the core). In a boiling water reactor (BWR), the emergency core cooling system (ECCS) injects liquid water into the reactor core from the top. Water vapor produced from boiling will flow in the opposite direction. Given a high enough flow rate of steam, reversal of the ECCS-injected liquid water occurs. In a pressurized water reactor (PWR), the ECCS injects liquid into the hot