Subcritical reactor

A subcritical reactor is a type of nuclear reactor that operates with a nuclear fission reaction that has not reached a self-sustaining chain reaction. In a subcritical state, the reactor's neutron population is decreasing over time rather than maintaining a constant or increasing reaction rate. This means that the number of fissions occurring is insufficient to sustain a continuous chain reaction, which is the case for critical and supercritical reactors. **Key characteristics of subcritical reactors include:** 1.