How Does Splitting an Atom Release Energy in Fission and Fusion?

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Splitting an atom through fission involves a neutron being absorbed by a nucleus, making it unstable and causing it to split, releasing energy in the process. This energy release is explained by the mass defect, where the resulting mass of the fission products is less than the original mass, converting the missing mass into energy according to E=mc². Neutrons can be slowed down using hydrogen in water, which is crucial for initiating a chain reaction in nuclear reactors. The discussion clarifies that neutrons cannot be easily accelerated like charged particles, as they lack charge, and they are typically produced during fission. Understanding these processes is essential for grasping the principles of nuclear power and reactions.
  • #31
Line said:
It would seem the heating up particles would use far more energy.
You mean you just can't send a few particle through and accelrator and fuse them? If you have enough you ought to have enough heat to generate a fusion reaction. Or is there someway to turn off the magnetic fields?
Now I'm not talking about nuclear reactios. If a took the nucleaus of an iron atom and counted the particles in it. The mass of the particles would be more thand the nucleus?

OK, now you're no longer making any sense.

Zz.
 
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  • #32
Line said:
WHy would it take more energy in an accelelrator?

I mean the heat used to trigger a fusion reaction is awesome. I'd think an accelerator would be cheaper.

An accelerator is very very inefficient. Only a tiny fraction of the energy that goes into running it, ends up as increased energy of the particles that it's accelerating. Even if you get the particles to fuse and release energy, you're not going to come close to "paying back" all the energy that you pumped into the accelerator in the first place.
 
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