control rod

noun

plural control rods

: a rod of a neutron-absorbing material (such as boron carbide) used to regulate the rate of nuclear fission in a reactor

Examples of control rod in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

For example, the United States is largely dependent on China for rare earths used in fiber optics, lasers, batteries, nuclear control rods, medical imaging, metallurgy, permanent magnets, catalysts, electronics, aerospace alloys, solid state devices, and data storage devices. —Deborah Wince-Smith, Forbes, 21 Feb. 2025

In the basement, a worker mistakenly raised a few of the control rods that can reduce and, if necessary, completely shut down the chain reaction in the reactor. —Ian Austen, New York Times, 4 Jan. 2025

While other reactors rely on control rods which can lead to overheating if removed, the AHR is self-regulating. —David Hambling, Forbes, 5 Dec. 2024

This reaction is kept at moderate levels using control rods made of neutron-absorbing materials, usually boron or cadmium, that limit the number of neutrons that can trigger fission. —Jacek Krywko, Ars Technica, 22 July 2024

Reactors are dialed up or down by moving the control rods in and out of the core. —Jacek Krywko, Ars Technica, 22 July 2024

In the reactors used at Fukushima, the control rods thrust up into the pressure vessel from below, and the housings around each control rod’s entry point were essentially weak spots. —IEEE Spectrum, 31 Oct. 2011

Within 5 seconds, control rods thrust upward into the three operational reactors and stopped the fission reactions. —IEEE Spectrum, 31 Oct. 2011

Desperate Measures To restart one or more reactors, Rosatom must lift the reactors’ control rods and dilute the boronic acid in the plant’s primary cooling water. —IEEE Spectrum, 7 July 2023

Word History

First Known Use

1906, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for control rod

• amphipod
• arthropod
• copepod
• decapod
• endopod
• escalade
• esplanade
• exopod
• gastropod
• goldenrod
• isopod
• overawed