NUCLEAR FUSION

NUCLEAR FISSION

• http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/science/add_aqa/atoms_radiation/nuclearact.shtml

Fission

Fusion

Nuclear Fission and Fusion

Fission: Splitting a heavy nucleus into two nuclei with smaller mass numbers.

01

92235

56142

3691

013n U Ba Kr n

Fission

Nuclear Fission & POWER

• Currently about

103 nuclear power

plants in the U.S.

and about 435

worldwide.

• 17% of the

world’s energy

comes from

nuclear.

Nuclear Fission and Fusion

Fusion: Combining two light nuclei to form a heavier, more stable nucleus.

23

11

24

10He H He e

Fusion

The Sun

Energy and MassNuclear changes occur with small but measurable losses of mass. The mass is converted to energy according to Einstein’s equation:

E = mc2

m = mass E = change in energy

c = speed of light

Because c2 is so large, even small amounts of mass are converted to enormous amount of energy.

Lets do this!

A Fission Reactor

Fission Processes

Event

NeutronsCausingFission Result

subcritical < 1 reaction stopscritical = 1 sustained reactionsupercritical > 1 violent explosion

A self-sustaining fission process is called a chain reaction.