Apsara is India’s first research reactor, founded by the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) in Mumbai, Maharashtra.
What is Apsara?
Apsara is a pool-type reactor of 1-megawatt power, which is highly enriched uranium as 4.5 kg of fuel in the form of plates. Light water was used as a moderator and a coolant for APSARA. The maximum neutron flux was around 10¹³ neutrons/cm²/s.
Apsara was mainly used for the production of isotope research, experiments of shielding, activation of neutron analysis, neutron radiography, and testing of neutron detectors. Apsara has helped in the characterization of materials and forensic investigations. After providing more than five decades of dedicated service to the researchers, the experiment ended as it was shut down in 2009.
History of Apsara
The Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) commissioned the nuclear research reactor Apsara on August 4, 1956. However, Apsara achieved its criticality on August 4, 2015, and became the first research reactor in Asia.
Here, “criticality” refers to the state of a nuclear reactor when the nuclear fission reaction becomes self-sustaining. Its design was conceptualized by Dr Homi Bhabha in 1955, the father of the Indian nuclear programme. The reactor was built in the United Kingdom, which developed the fuel. The reactor was named Apsara by the then Prime Minister of India, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, in 1957. It was dedicated to India.
What is Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC)?
Bhabha Atomic Research Centre ( BARC) is India’s premier nuclear research facility, having headquarters in Mumbai, Maharashtra. It is a multidisciplinary research centre for advanced research and development.
Uses of Apsara
1. Agriculture
Apsara is useful in the field of agriculture. Scientists have evolved to study the growth simulation storage effects, post-irradiation, the role of induced radioactivity, and the effects of nutrient and chemical mutations. It is also helpful in developing disease-resistant and high-yielding crops.
2. Useful as a study
Apsara is useful in studies in basic science. Such as neutron scattering, activation analysis of neutrons, and neutron and gamma-ray emission studies. Apsara was created by Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), India’s premier nuclear research facility, with headquarters in Trombay, Mumbai. Homi Jahangir Bhabha founded it in 1954.
Along with these, Apsara is also useful for the production of isotopes, primary research, shielding experiments, neutron activation analysis, neutron radiography, and testing of neutron detectors.
An updated version of Apsara
The upgraded version of Apsara is similar to what it was before. The updated version of Apsara uses plate-type dispersion fuel elements, which are made up of low and rich uranium. Upgrading Apsara will increase the production of radio-isotopes for medical applications.
Along with medical uses, it is also helpful for research studies like physics, material science, and radiation shielding. Apsara-U (Apsara-upgraded) was successfully achieved on September 10, 2018. It is a hot water concept, which creates a difference between Apsara and Apsara-U.
