Nuclear Fission

Introduction

Nuclear fission is a nuclear reaction or a radioactive decay process in which the nucleus of an atom splits into two or more smaller, lighter nuclei. This process often releases a large amount of energy and usually one or more neutrons.

Definition and Equation

The nuclear fission reaction can be written generally as:

where:

• is the initial nucleus with atomic number and atomic mass number ,
• and are the resulting fission products,
• is the number of neutrons released,
• is the neutrino released.

Energy Release

A significant amount of energy is released during nuclear fission, which is given by Einstein’s mass-energy equivalence principle:

where:

• is the energy released,
• is the change in mass during the reaction,
• is the speed of light.

Chain Reactions

The neutrons emitted in the fission process can induce fission in other atoms, leading to a chain reaction. This is the principle behind nuclear reactors and atomic bombs.

Applications

Nuclear fission has several applications:

• Power generation: Nuclear power plants use controlled nuclear fission to generate electricity.
• Nuclear weapons: Uncontrolled nuclear fission reactions result in large energy release, used in atomic bombs.
• Nuclear medicine: Fission products are used in medical imaging and treatment.

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