10 facts about NUCLEAR FISSION
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10 facts about NUCLEAR FISSION
1. Nuclear Fission is the splitting
of an atomic nucleus into two
smaller nuclei of approximately
equal mass.
10 facts about NUCLEAR FISSION
2. Unlike radioactive
decay, nuclear fission does
not occur spontaneously.
10 facts about NUCLEAR FISSION
3. The nucleus needs to be
bombarded by a neutron at high
speed in order to split.
10 facts about NUCLEAR FISSION
4. The new neutrons that are
released then bombard other
nuclei, creating a chain-reaction.
10 facts about NUCLEAR FISSION
5. The chain reaction releases
huge amount of energy, because
mass has been converted into
energy!
10 facts about NUCLEAR FISSION
6. An example of an
uncontrolled chain
reaction is an atom bomb.
10 facts about NUCLEAR FISSION
7. Nuclear power plants
generate electricity with
controlled chain reactions.
10 facts about NUCLEAR FISSION
8. The splitting of an atom
releases an incredible amount of
heat and gamma radiation, or
radiation made of high-energy
photons. The two atoms that
result from the fission later
release beta radiation (superfast
electrons) and gamma radiation
of their own, too.
10 facts about NUCLEAR FISSION
9.
Nuclear Fission was discovered
after scientists began to practice
artificial transmutation, creating
new elements by changing the
nucleus of existing elements.
10 facts about NUCLEAR FISSION
Artificial transmutation
is done in a particle
accelerator, not at a power
plant.
10.