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Spectrum temperature effect

For thermal reactors the increase of the temperature leads to a hardening of neutron spectrum. In turn this leads, in general, to a decrease of the capture and fission cross-sections. The effects of these decreases depend on the specific properties of the fissile and fertile nuclei in the thermal region. For example a standard enriched Uranium fuel has a negative spectrum temperature coefficient which becomes positive with the increase of the Plutonium content of the fuel.