Fission Definition and 311 Threads

Fission type nuclear bombs and nuclear reactors use neutron bombardment to trigger the fission reaction but why not protons? Protons can repel the like electromagnetic fields of the other protons in the atomic nucleus so why not bombard the nucleus with protons instead?

In a nuclear reactor, what kind of energy is produced when the radioactive isotopes go through fission? How much of it is in the form of electromagnetic waves? Are the waves mostly in the UV and Gamma Ray region of the electromagnetic spectrum?

Hi all I am struggling with the fission of U235 into Barium 144 and Krypton 89. U= 235.044u +(1.0087 mass of neutron)=236.053 Ba=(143.923) + (Kr=88.917) +3(1.0087u) This leaves 0.186u missing on the products side. If this is converted to MeV I gain the value, 173MeV. This agrees with...

Just curious, I am new to learning about nuclear science and would like to know some differences between Fission and Fusion. Thanks in advance! -Posh

Hello, I am asked to plot the activity of 137Cs in a 1Gw fission reactor over time of 100 years if the reactor is active from 0-20 years and shuts down at 20 years. So here are the facts: The reactor capacity is 1Gw Reactor is active for the first 20 years then shuts down At shutdown...

If you need to put more energy into making a bigger nucleus, shouldn't bigger nuclei have more energy that can be released? How does putting energy into making hydrogen into helium even release that much more energy?

Homework Statement Which term in semi-empirical mass formula gives rise to the energy release in fission? What is the physical origin of this term? All β-stable nuclides heavier than 92Mo (Molybdenum) have a positive Q-value for fission; explain what prevents them decaying in this way...

Hi I have been asked in a past exam paper to estimate the energy released by the fission of one 235U nucleus. I am given the mass of a 235U nucleus and also 141Cs nucleus and 93Rb nucleus in the 'Useful constants and formula' section of the exam so I wondered if I had to use these, although...

Fission-fragment rocket The wiki entry seems to paint this system in a positive light, so is it a workable propulsion system for high speed space missions? How long would a trip to Pluto take with something like this? How many years away is this from becoming a reality?

This question was borne out of a discussion with a friend. We were talking about meeting future energy demands and we both think a predominantly nuclear approach supplemented by renewables and energy saver (i.e. cavity insulation for all houses) technologies would be desirable. When the...

Homework Statement What is the amount of energy released when 1g of uranium 235 undergoes fission? Fission of uranium is: uranium + n -> Ba + Kr +12n. Homework Equations E=Δmc^2 The Attempt at a Solution I found the mass of the reactants to be 236.05256u and the products to be...

Homework Statement Another mode in which uranium 235 can undergo fission is U + n -> Te + Zr +n. Calculate the energy change when 1g of uranium 235 undergoes fission in this way. The masses are U=235.04u. n=1.0087u. Te=134.92u. Zr=99.92u. Homework Equations The Attempt at a...

One fission reaction, of a U-235 nucleouse produces 2.4 Neutrons. In a pressurized water reactor, those uranium fuel rods are clad and sitting in water, giving off these neutrons. They are fast. The water slows them down, but does not absorb them and this generates heat. The inside of that...

Is fission or fusion of antiparticles possible?

I'm writing about emerging technologies the richest people on Earth would be thrilled to have. In fact, its already hit the noosphere. Now I'm writing another appeal to investing in people (this one focusing more on biopersonal impacts than technosocial development) and wish to publish it with a...

Homework Statement What is the Q value in units of MeV in each of the following processes? i) The spontaneous fission of 232U92 to 145La57 and 87Br35 ii) The neutron induced fission of 232U92 to 146La57 and 87Br35 Explain why heavy nuclei such as 232U92 do not usually undergo fission...

I have argued with others on the Talk Polywell forum about the Nuclear Binding Energy per Nucleon vs the Total Nuclear Binding Energy per Nucleus graphs (which is the NBE/Nucleon * the atomic mass number). Despite referenced statements that, while the total binding energy increases continuously...

Hello, I am doing a small research investigation into whether Nuclear Fusion will provide a safer and as efficient energy source as current Fission technology. Just interested if anybody has opinions on the topic and what their stance is on Nuclear Fusion, do they think it can work, any...

I feel bad I've been asking so many questions, some of which don't really make sense. So I bought a 5 year membership to try to make it up to you guys; trying to give back. Here's what I really need to know: An example atom that is fissionable, along with the velocity of the nucleons...

fission product How do you calculate the total fission product given the fuel type, volume and power density of the reactor? assuming it's a BWR and homogenous mixture of fuel and coolant. what's the simplest way to find it?

When a massive nucleus splits, it forms two smaller fragments. For Uranium, we have A=235, and the typical fragments are A=140 and A=95. Looking at the binding energy curve, these two fragments have greater binding energy per nucleon than the original uranium nucleus. Hence, if the uranium...

Hello, I was just wondering if anybody could give me any ideas about a possible direction in a Physics issues investigation. I am looking at choosing one around nuclear energy and the issues of radiation. Any help or interesting sugestions of avenues in nuclear physics, and or possibe guiding...

Anyone on this forum know what the highest-probability fission chain reaction of plutonium-239 is? Mike Fontenot

fission typically uses U-235 and fusion titrium- deuterium for their reactions. which is more easily obtained and more plentiful? also I've heard of a new fission fuel called thorium which has a radioactive half-life under a 10 years and is plentiful so, any info on this stuff will be...

i'm new to nuclear power and i wanted to know some things ANY help/ insight would be appreciated. I am still in high school and I am just interested in nuclear power 1. does fusion always involve just 2 atoms? i know that fusion and fission both require huge amounts of energy so, is there no...

Homework Statement The spontaneous fission rate for U-238 is roughly 1 fission per gram per 100 seconds. Show that this rate is the equivalent to a half-life for spontaneous fission of ~5.5x1015 years Homework Equations none that I can find in my book The Attempt at a Solution I'm...

Homework Statement A uranium nucleus (X=92) splits into two equal fragments, and each has a radius of approximately 8x10^-15m. What is the Coulomb potential energy of such fragments when in contact? Homework Equations I tried using the coulomb law but that doesn't work. Could it be to do...

200 MeV of energy may be obtained per fission of U 235. A reactor is generating 1000 Kw of power. Find the rate of nuclear fission ? Please help...

I haven't thought about it TOO much, but it seems that you should only get power from either fusing atoms or splitting (fissing?) them, but how come both? Wouldn't that mean you could continually fuse and split atoms for continual energy gain? (My currrent thought against that is, that you can...

I keeps seeing news about iran making uranium and everybody is using nuclear fission bombs instead of nuclear fusion. Hydrogen bombs are much more powerful because they use fusion, but still all countries that have nuclear weapons use uranium fission bombs, Why? What advantage does fission...

Fission products are unstable and generate a lot energy decaying to more stable isotopes. Why we don't use that energy (heat) to produce electricity instead of burying them as nuclear waste?

Hi, I hope someone can help me with these question I have about fission? Where can I find a list of what the activation energy is between the normal state of the nucleus and the state where it splits. In my book it says the activation energy for U-235 is 5.3 MeV(The energy required to fission...

Does anyone know why we don't fission Lead 208? I know it is considered with magic number and stable, but is it still capable of producing fission. How much energy would an incident neutron need in order to produce fission, and could/why could Pb208 have a sustainable fission reaction?

Hello I'm working on a report now, and I'm trying to find an answer to the following question (looked for 45 mins on the internet but no clue as to where to find it) If Uranium-235 undergoes fission and one of the fragments is Cesium-137, which isotope is the other fission fragment?

Hello. Why isn't there alpha decay in fission reaction or fission fragments evolution ? is there only gamma and betas?

Homework Statement Fission reaction: 10n + 23592U --> 14156 + 9236 Kr + 3(10n) Why in the world is there a neutron on the left side of this rxn? Why not just reduce the number of neutrons on the right side to two?

I have question regarding the fission of 236U,my question is why we have the Q value (185MeV) of the symmetric fission of U236 (two 118Ru) is less than the Q value (188MeV) for the fission into 96Sr and 140Xe

Hello, Why is confinement a big problem in fusion and not in fission? Is it simply due to the fact that in fission, we're injecting a neutron that is neutral, and in fusion we're pushing together charged particles? If so, why is that facet not taken care of by reaching the critical ignition...

As a person with a very basic understanding of nuclear physics, I am curious about the source of energy in a fission reaction. In the past, I have made the following assumption: -That the bulk of the energy in a fission reaction is released the form of kinetic energy of the two fragments...

Interesting historical paper How Nuclear Fission Came to Be Discovered 23 May 1957 by Otto R. Frisch, FRS http://books.google.com/books?id=N-J6bTRyAScC&lpg=PA29&pg=PA29

Homework Statement what is the Q value for the symmetric fission of 236U? Homework Equations M(Z,A)=Zmp+Nmn-B The Attempt at a Solution I don't understand the question by saying symmetric fission, is it mean we have the reaction which is 236U=118Ru+118Ru so the Q from he...

Homework Statement Spontaneous fission rate of 238U is one fission per 100s per g show that it is equal to half life of 5.5x10^15year Homework Equations The Attempt at a Solution I tried so many different ways, one of them was to use avogadro number with weight mass 238 and then...

How much energy does a neutron need to be able to split an atom and start nuclear fission?

Hello, I have been really interested in nuclear fission in my life, however, have not studied anything solid in the field. I have, however, read a little about it. Basically, I know that in order for fission to take place, a neurton needs to collide with a large, dense nucleus. What I do not...

Homework Statement the lesser amount of binding energy for lighter and heavier nuclei explains fusion and fission. It has been mentioned large amount of energy is released during fusion and fission due to this low binding energy. i can't understand the concept. binding energy is the the...

Is there any possible way to extract energy that isn't in terms of heat in a nuclear reaction? It seems like a very passive way to collect energy. There are many medium transports from the reactor to the actual steam turbine (e.g. supercritical water, molten sodium, etc). Is there any proposed...

Is there any way we can decrease the half life of isotopes in nuclear waste? such as mutate to some other radionuclides that have a relatively shorter half life than the original isotopes generated by depleted fuel? Thanks

I've read the following: The total binding energy after fission and fusion decreases. Does that sound right to you? Can you please give me some explanation also? Or direct me to webpages for further understanding of binding energy in the context of fusion and fission. Thanks

Atomic bombs are really powerful and destructive devices. I understand that during a fission reaction, the parent isotope splits in 2 lower mass isotopes with high kinetic energies due to the binding energy that were released. But I don't understand how this becomes into the destructive effects...

The binding energy per nucleon of each nucleus is as follows. 235 U : 1.2191 x 10^-12 J 92144 Ba : 1.3341 x 10^-12 J 5690 Kr : 1.3864 x 10^-12 J 36Use the data to calculate 1/ The energy release in this fission reaction( give your answer to 3 significant figures)The answer to the...