Nuclears

Nuclear Fission Vs.
Nuclear Fusion
Nuclear Fission Nuclear Fusion
Definition: Fission is the splitting of a large atom Fusion is the fusing of two or more
into two or more smaller ones. lighter atoms into a larger one.
Natural occurrence Fission reaction does not normally Fusion occurs in stars, such as the
of the process: occur in nature. sun.
Byproducts of the Fission produces many highly Few radioactive particles are
reaction: radioactive particles. produced by fusion reaction, but if a
fission "trigger" is used, radioactive
particles will result from that.
Conditions: Critical mass of the substance and High density, high temperature
high-speed neutrons are required. environment is required.
Energy Takes little energy to split two atoms Extremely high energy is required to
Requirement: in a fission reaction. bring two or more protons close
enough that nuclear forces overcome
their electrostatic repulsion.
Energy Released: The energy released by fission is a The energy released by fusion is three
million times greater than that to four times greater than the energy
released in chemical reactions; but released by fission.
lower than the energy released by
nuclear fusion.
Nuclear weapon: One class of nuclear weapon is a One class of nuclear weapon is the
fission bomb, also known as an hydrogen bomb, which uses a fission
atomic bomb or atom bomb. reaction to "trigger" a fusion reaction.
Nuclear Fission: The Heart of the Reactor
Despite all the cosmic energy that the word "nuclear" invokes, power plants that depend on
atomic energy don't operate that differently from a typical coal-burning power plant. Both heat
water into pressurized steam, which drives a turbine generator. The key difference between the
two plants is the method of heating the water.
While older plants burn fossil fuels, nuclear plants depend on the heat that occurs during nuclear
fission, when one atom splits into two and releases energy. Nuclear fission happens naturally
every day. Uranium, for example, constantly undergoes spontaneous fission at a very slow rate.
This is why the element emits radiation, and why it's a natural choice for the induced fission that
nuclear power plants require.
Uranium is a common element on Earth and has existed since the planet formed. While there are
several varieties of uranium, uranium-235 (U-235) is the one most important to the production
of both nuclear power and nuclear bombs.
U-235 decays naturally by alpha radiation: It throws off an alpha particle, or two neutrons and
two protons bound together. It's also one of the few elements that can undergo induced fission.
Fire a free neutron into a U-235 nucleus and the nucleus will absorb the neutron, become
unstable and split immediately. See How Nuclear Radiation Works for complete details.
The animation to the right shows a uranium-235 nucleus with a neutron approaching from the
top. As soon as the nucleus captures the neutron, it splits into two lighter atoms and throws off
two or three new neutrons (the number of ejected neutrons depends on how the U-235 atom
splits). The process of capturing the neutron and splitting happens very quickly.
The decay of a single U-235 atom releases approximately 200 MeV (million electron volts). That
may not seem like much, but there are lots of uranium atoms in a pound (0.45 kilograms) of
uranium. So many, in fact, that a pound of highly enriched uranium as used to power a nuclear
submarine is equal to about a million gallons of gasoline.
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.
But for all of this to work, scientists have to first enrich a sample of uranium so that it contains 2
to 3 percent more U-235. Three-percent enrichment is sufficient for nuclear power plants, but
weapons-grade uranium is composed of at least 90 percent U-235.
Fig:Nuclear Power Plant

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Nuclear Fission Vs.

Nuclear Fission: The Heart of the Reactor

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