Fission
Fission
Definition
Fission is the process of releasing energy when the mass between the product nuclei and the reactants has been concerted into energy in order to obtain a much larger percentage of nuclei of a target involved in releasing energy.
Important features of
- additional neutrons are emitted
- leads to "chain reaction" of neighboring molecules
- low yield of reaction
How it works
- process produces Fission Products which are "unstable radioactive isotopes produced when a uranium nucleus is split after capturing a neuron.
- neutrons trigger the target nucleus causing it to split into many different components such as: neutrons, fission product, and neutron
- once these products are released create a nuclear chain reaction
Energy released From Each Fission
(according to PH261 Slides)
165 MeV ~ kinetic energy of fission products 7 MeV ~ gamma rays 6 MeV ~ kinetic energy of the neutrons 7 MeV ~ energy from fission products 6 MeV ~ gamma rays from fission products 9 MeV ~ anti-neutrinos from fission products
200 MeV
Controls of Nuclear Fission
- Only One neutron out of 2 or 3 will strike another molecules nucleus
- Controlled by a Neutron-Absorbing materialsuch as Graphite