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Nuclear Fission

1,588 bytes added, 10:33, 30 May 2024
Key Stage 5
:[https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1292120223/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=1292120223&linkCode=as2&tag=nrjc-21&linkId=068ecf40278c32406a7f1c6e66751417 ''Nuclear fission, pages 110, 112-113, GCSE Physics, Pearson Edexcel '']
:[https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1292120223/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=1292120223&linkCode=as2&tag=nrjc-21&linkId=068ecf40278c32406a7f1c6e66751417 ''Nuclear fission; power generation, page 113, GCSE Physics, Pearson Edexcel '']
 
====OCR====
:[https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0198359837/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=0198359837&linkCode=as2&tag=nrjc-21&linkId=3c4229e8b023b2b60768e7ea2307cc6f ''Nuclear fission, pages 184-185, Gateway GCSE Physics, Oxford, OCR '']
 
==Key Stage 5==
===Meaning===
'''Fission''' is the splitting of a heavy [[Atomic Nucleus|nucleus]] into two approximately equal fragments, releasing [[energy]].
 
===About Fission===
*'''Nuclear fission''' can be spontaneous or induced by the absorption of a [[neutron]].
*When [[Uranium-235]] or [[Plutonium-239]] absorbs a [[neutron]], it becomes unstable and splits into two smaller daughter [[Atomic Nucleus|nuclei]] along with additional [[neutron]]s and a large amount of [[energy]].
*The released [[neutron]]s can induce further [[Nuclear Fission|fission]] reactions, leading to a [[Chain Reaction|chain reaction]].
{| class="wikitable"
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|[[File:InducedFission.png|center|600px]]
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| style="height:20px; width:600px; text-align:left;" |A [[model]] showing a possible mechanism for induced '''nuclear fission''' resulting from the capture of a [[Thermal Neutron|thermal neutron]].
 
<math>{}_{92}^{235}U + {}_{0}^{1}n \rightarrow {}_{92}^{236}U \rightarrow {}_{36}^{85}Kr + {}_{56}^{148}Ba + 3{}_{0}^{1}n</math>
|}
*'''Fission''' releases a significant amount of [[energy]], primarily in the form of [[Kinetic Energy|kinetic energy]] of the [[Nuclear Fission|fission]] fragments.
*'''Fission''' is used in [[Nuclear Reactor|nuclear reactors]] to generate [[electricity]] and in [[Nuclear Bomb|nuclear weapons]].