Radiation chemistry of water at low dose rates with emphasis on the energy balance

There has been considerable interest in absorbed dose water calorimetry. In order to accurately relate the temperature change to the absorbed dose, the energy balance of the overall chemistry of the system must be known. The radiolytic products and their yields are affected by dose rate, dose and added solutes. The yields of the radiolytic products have been calculated using a computer program developed at Atomic Energy of Canada. The chemical energy balance was determined as a function of dose for various dose rates and initial concentrations of hydrogen (H2), oxygen (O2), and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). In solutions containing H2O2 or O2 and H2 the chemical reactions were exothermic; in other cases they were endothermic. Approach to equilibrium and equilbrium conditions are discussed