Question

Explain what is nuclear fission and giving an example. Write down the formula for energy generated in these processes.

Answer 1

When the nucleus of an atom splits into lighter nuclei through a nuclear reaction the process is termed as nuclear fission. This decay can be natural spontaneous splitting by radioactive decay, or can actually be simulated in a lab by achieving necessary conditions (bombarding with neutrinos). The resulting fragments tend to have a combined mass that is less than the original. 

Example of Nuclear Fission

An example of nuclear fission is the splitting of Uranium-235. The equation of the reaction has been given below:

\[\ce{^235_92U + ^1_0n -> ^144_56Ba + ^89_36Kr + 3^1_0n + 210MeV}\]

The mass of the original nucleus is more than the sum of the masses of the fragments. This mass difference is released as energy, which can be enormous as in the fission of ²³⁵U.