Nuclear Fission

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Nuclear Fission

By Greg Schweiker and Josh Helzner

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 Nuclear fission is when a reaction in the nucleus causes a split into two lighter nuclei

 Occurs when a nucleus has too many protons and neutrons to stay stable.

 The mass is converted into energy.

 To undergo fission you need a heavy nuclei.

Lighter nuclei go through another process called fusion.

Conditions for fission to occur

 There needs to be a critical mass (Critical-having enough mass to sustain a reaction).

 Has to have high speed neutrons, will no work with low speed neutrons.

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 Born in Vienna, Austria on November 7th, 1878

 Went to University of Vienna

 Was one of the people to discover nuclear fission. She unleashed the possibility of the nuclear reactor.

 Her discoveries led to the development of the atomic bomb.

Born in Frankfurt, Germany on March 8 th , 1879

Went to Humboldt University of Berlin

Published the first report on his discovery of the

Uranium Z.

Partner of Lise Meitner for a short time.

Considered the “Father of

Nuclear Chemistry”.

Won the Nobel Prize in 1944 for his discovery and work on nuclear fission.

 Born in Budapest, Austria-Hungary on February

11, 1898

 Studied at Humboldt University of Berlin

 Worked on the first nuclear reactor, and the atomic bomb.

 One of the first scientists to realize the true power, and dangers nuclear reactions may have.

 Discovered on December 17, 1938 By Otto Hahn and Fritz Strassman (Assistant).

 Found when they bombarded Uranium-235 with neutrons.

 Lise Meitner wrote explanation of this new reaction and coined the term “fission”.

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 Otto Hahn and Strassman were performing extra tests on the bombarded uranium.

 Lise and Hahn predicted that the experiment would result in the element radium, but it instead ended with the lighter elements of barium and krypton.

 Hahn realized that the uranium atoms split into much smaller atoms.

 This split released neutrons and a very large amount of energy. There was also a loss of some mass.

 Meitner expected a release of energy due to Einstein's famous equation, E= mc 2 .

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 Nuclear weapons, atomic bombs, and power plants (Used Cautiously).

 Nuclear fission of uranium is used in nuclear reactors due to its ability to contain a nuclear chain.

 This nuclear chain allows the molecules to sustain themselves.

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 Nuclear Fusion- A nuclear reaction when atomic nuclei of a low atomic number fuse together to form a heavy nucleus with the release of energy

 Nuclear fusion is seen in stars, supernovas, and the sun.

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Other Alternatives Continued

 The energy released in nuclear fusion is about three to four times greater than fission.

 Nuclear fusion is safer than fission

 It is, however, more difficult to perform.

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 http://ansnuclearcafe.org/2012/02/14/lisemeitners-fantastic-explanation-nuclear-fission/

 http://chemwiki.ucdavis.edu/Physical_Chemistry/N uclear_Chemistry/Fission_and_Fusion

 http://www.diffen.com/difference/Nuclear_Fission_ vs_Nuclear_Fusion

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