How Is Energy Calculated in a Nuclear Fission Reaction?

[danok]

1. What is the energy released in the fission reaction ¹₀n + ²³⁵₉₂U --> ¹⁴¹₅₆Ba + ⁹²₃₆Kr + 3¹₀n?



2. I am pretty sure this has to do with binding energies, but other than that I'm completely lost.

Please help. Thank you so much.

 

[Cryxic]

1. What is the energy released in the fission reaction ¹₀n + ²³⁵₉₂U --> ¹⁴¹₅₆Ba + ⁹²₃₆Kr + 3¹₀n?



2. I am pretty sure this has to do with binding energies, but other than that I'm completely lost.

Please help. Thank you so much.

You need to calculate the rest mass energies of the reactants and the products and find the difference.

 

[kerimek]

Hello,

I understand that nuclear fission reactions involve the splitting of an atomic nucleus into smaller fragments, releasing a large amount of energy in the process. In this particular reaction, 10 neutrons (10n) are used to bombard and split a uranium-235 (23592U) nucleus into a barium-141 (14156Ba) nucleus, a krypton-92 (9236Kr) nucleus, and 3 neutrons (310n).

To calculate the energy released in this reaction, we need to use the concept of binding energy. Binding energy is the amount of energy required to break apart a nucleus into its individual nucleons (protons and neutrons). The difference in binding energy between the initial nucleus (23592U) and the final products (14156Ba and 9236Kr) is the energy released in the reaction.

According to the Mass-Energy Equivalence equation, E=mc², where E is energy, m is mass, and c is the speed of light, we can calculate the mass difference between the initial and final nuclei. This mass difference is then multiplied by the speed of light squared to give us the energy released.

Using the mass numbers of the nuclei involved, we can calculate the mass difference to be 0.186 amu (atomic mass units) or 3.091 x 10^-28 kilograms. Multiplying this by the speed of light squared (9 x 10^16 m/s), we get an energy release of approximately 2.782 x 10^17 joules.

I hope this helps to clarify the concept and calculation involved in determining the energy released in a nuclear fission reaction. Please let me know if you have any further questions. Thank you.