home *** CD-ROM | disk | FTP | other *** search
/ The Epic Interactive Encyclopedia 1998 / Epic Interactive Encyclopedia, The - 1998 Edition (1998)(Epic Marketing).iso / C / Critical_mass / INFOTEXT < prev   
Text File  |  1992-09-02  |  275b  |  8 lines
  1. In nuclear physics, the minimum mass of
  2. fissile material that can undergo a
  3. continuous chain reaction. Below this mass,
  4. too many neutrons escape from the surface for
  5. a chain reaction to carry on; above the
  6. critical mass, the reaction may accelerate
  7. into a nuclear explosion.
  8.