A small water reactor recently installed at Podunk College is operating at the boiling point of water due to the malfunctioning of the cooling system. The operators observe that the water boils away at the rate of 10 L/min. If they assume that all of the reactor energy is absorbed in the water, the power developed by the reactor is approximately

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The rate of energy absorbed by the water is given by the latent heat of vaporization, which is the quantity of heat required to convert a unit mass of a substance from a liquid into a vapor at a constant temperature. For water at its boiling point (100°C or 373 K), the latent heat of vaporization is approximately 2.26 x 106 J/kg.

The rate of water boiling away is 10 L/min, which is equivalent to 10 kg/min. Therefore, the rate of energy absorbed by the water is:
(10 kg/min) x (2.26 x 106 J/kg) = 22.6 x 106 J/min = 378 kW

Thus, the power developed by the reactor is approximately 378 kW. Choice D is the only answer that matches this result.

A Small Water Reactor Recently Installed at Podunk College Is