What is nuclear fission? Explain with an example. Write the equation of the nuclear reaction involved.
Answers
Nuclear fission is a nuclear reaction in which the nucleus of an atom splits into smaller parts (lighter nuclei). The fission process often produces free neutrons and photons (in the form of gamma rays), and releases a large amount of energy. In nuclear physics, nuclear fission is either a nuclear reaction or a radioactive decay process. The case of decay process is called spontaneous fission and it is very rare process. In this section, the neutron-induced nuclear fission, the process of the greatest practical importance in reactor physics, will be discussed.
Fusion reactions between light elements, like fission reactions that split heavy elements, release energy because of a key feature of nuclear matter called the binding energy, which can be released through fusion or fission. The binding energy of the nucleus is a measure of the efficiency with which its constituent nucleons are bound together. Take, for example, an element with Z protons and N neutrons in its nucleus. The element’s atomic weight A is Z + N, and its atomic number is Z. The binding energy B is the energy associated with the mass difference between the Z protons and N neutrons considered separately and the nucleons bound together (Z + N) in a nucleus of mass M. The formula is
B = (Zmp + Nmn − M)c2.
Answer:
Explanation:
The process in which the heavy nucleus of a radioactive atom ( such as uranium, plutonium or thorium) splits up into smaller nuclei when bombarded with low energy neutrons, is called nuclear fission.
Example:-when uranium-235 atoms are bombarded with slow moving neutrons breaks up to produce two medium - weight atoms, barium-139 and krypton-94,with the emission of 3 neutrons.
Equation:-
Uranium+ Neutron WHEN FISSION -------> Barium + Krypton+ Neutrons+ tremendous amount of energy