Fission vs. Fusion question (particle physics)

[Diyon335]

Homework Statement

Calculate energy released in the reactions below, and compare them (see full question below)

Relevant Equations

a) FISSION: 1g of U-235 splits into La-148 + Br-87
b) FUSION: 0.5g of D2O with 0.5g of T20 creates He-4 and a neutron
useful equations: E = Δm(c^2)

Homework Statement: Calculate energy released in the reactions below, and compare them (see full question below)
Homework Equations: a) FISSION: 1g of U-235 splits into La-148 + Br-87
b) FUSION: 0.5g of D2O with 0.5g of T20 creates He-4 and a neutron
useful equations: E = Δm(c^2)

Hey, can someone help me with calculating the energies released by fission and fusion. Any help with a small explanation on WHY certain conversions and calculations are done would be so helpful, thank you!

The full question is this:

a) Calculate the energy released if 1 gram of U-235 splits into La-148 + Br-87.
b) Calculate the energy released in the fusion process of 0.5 grams of heavy water (D2O) with 0.5 grams of superheavy water (T2O), creating He-4 and a neutron. You may neglect the binding energies of the molecules.
c) Compare the energies released per gram. Which would you prefer?

 

[Vanadium 50]

Can you please show your effort?

 

[haruspex]

useful equations: E = Δm(c^2)

If that is to be useful, what do you need to know?

 

[DEvens]

It's kind of a messy question. The U235 part is not too bad. But the D2O/T2O part is way messy.

It says the D2O and T2O fuses to produce He-4 and "a neutron." Um... Ok, what happens to the O's? And what happens to the left-over D's? Because 0.5 gram of D2O has more molecules than 0.5 gram of T2O.

Maybe it means that the T's and the D's that match are used to produce a bunch of He-4's and the corresponding number of neutrons. And the O's get ignored? Or maybe the O's get included and converted to He-4? (Assuming it's all O-16, for simplicity.) And maybe the extra D's get converted to He-4? So one neutron per T, and the rest to He-4? Way messy question.

 

[collinsmark]

It's kind of a messy question. The U235 part is not too bad. But the D2O/T2O part is way messy.

It says the D2O and T2O fuses to produce He-4 and "a neutron." Um... Ok, what happens to the O's? And what happens to the left-over D's? Because 0.5 gram of D2O has more molecules than 0.5 gram of T2O.

Maybe it means that the T's and the D's that match are used to produce a bunch of He-4's and the corresponding number of neutrons. And the O's get ignored? Or maybe the O's get included and converted to He-4? (Assuming it's all O-16, for simplicity.) And maybe the extra D's get converted to He-4? So one neutron per T, and the rest to He-4? Way messy question.

In defense of the full problem statement, it does say, "you may neglect the binding energies of the molecules," and, "... creating He-4 and a neutron."