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Nuclear fission is a reaction in which the nucleus of an atom splits into two or more smaller nuclei. The fission process often produces gamma photons, and releases a very large amount of energy even by the energetic standards of radioactive decay.
To be a useful fuel for nuclear fission chain reactions, the material must: Be in the region of the binding energy curve where a fission chain reaction is possible (i.e., above radium) Have a high probability of fission on neutron capture; Release more than one neutron on average per neutron capture.
This process is also known as ionic fission. The singlet excitation energy of a sigma bond is the energy required for heterolytic dissociation, but the actual singlet excitation energy may be lower than the bond-dissociation energy of heterolysis as a result of the Coulombic attraction between the two ion fragments. [2]
Nuclear fission products are the atomic fragments left after a large atomic nucleus undergoes nuclear fission. Typically, a large nucleus like that of uranium fissions by splitting into two smaller nuclei, along with a few neutrons, the release of heat energy (kinetic energy of the nuclei), and gamma rays. The two smaller nuclei are the fission ...
The fission or "nuclear" chain-reaction, using fission-produced neutrons, is the source of energy for nuclear power plants and fission-type nuclear bombs, such as those detonated in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, at the end of World War II.
Fission product yields by mass for thermal neutron fission of U-235 and Pu-239 (the two typical of current nuclear power reactors) and U-233 (used in the thorium cycle). This page discusses each of the main elements in the mixture of fission products produced by nuclear fission of the common nuclear fuels uranium and plutonium.
The energy from fission is used to generate electric power in hundreds of locations worldwide. Nuclear energy is also released during fusion, when light nuclei like hydrogen are combined to form heavier nuclei such as helium. The Sun and other stars use nuclear fusion to generate thermal energy which is later radiated from the surface, a type ...
Spontaneous fission arises as a result of competition between the attractive properties of the strong nuclear force and the mutual coulombic repulsion of the constituent protons. Nuclear binding energy increases in proportion to atomic mass number (A), however coulombic repulsion increases with proton number (Z) squared. Thus, at high mass and ...