Question

4. When a nucleus of Uranium-235 absorbs a neutron, nuclear fission occurs. In a typical
reaction the total mass decreases by 3 x 10–28 kg. Given that the speed of light c is 3 x 108
m/s, approximately how much energy is released?
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Answer 1

if a heavy nucleus splits in half, then about 1 MeV per nucleon, or approximately 240 MeV per fission, is released. This is about 10 times the energy per fusion reaction, and about 100 times the energy of the average α, β, or γ decay.