Vocabulary Builder — Essay & Answer Writing
Fissile
Capable of undergoing nuclear fission when struck by slow (thermal) neutrons; referring to isotopes that can sustain a nuclear chain reaction and are therefore usable in nuclear reactors or weapons
Latin fissilis (that can be split), from findere (to split, cleave)
"The Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR) at Kalpakkam is designed to produce more fissile plutonium-239 than it consumes, using uranium-238 (a fertile, non-fissile material) as its blanket, a process that forms the core logic of India's three-stage nuclear programme."
Critical for GS3 (Science & Tech, nuclear energy, India's three-stage programme). Key fissile materials: Uranium-235 (natural, 0.7% abundance), Plutonium-239 (produced in reactors from U-238), Uranium-233 (produced from Thorium-232). India's three-stage programme: Stage 1, U-235 in PHWRs; Stage 2, Pu-239 in FBRs (breeder); Stage 3, U-233 from Th-232 in advanced reactors. PFBR uses mixed oxide (MOX) fuel, U-238 + Pu-239. Fissile material cut-off treaty (FMCT) negotiations in Conference on Disarmament (Geneva). India's minimum credible deterrence requires fissile material stockpile.
