Fission & Fusion
- Nuclei can join together, or split up, to form new nuclei
- These processes are known are
- Nuclear fission
- Nuclear fusion
Nuclear Fission
- There is a lot of energy stored within the nucleus of an atom
- This energy can be released in a nuclear reaction such as fission
- Nuclear fission is defined as:
The splitting of a large, unstable nucleus into two smaller nuclei
- Isotopes of uranium and plutonium both undergo fission and are used as fuels in nuclear power stations
- During fission, when a neutron collides with an unstable nucleus, the nucleus splits into two smaller nuclei (called daughter nuclei) as well as two or three neutrons
- Gamma rays are also emitted
How does nuclear fission work?
A neutron is fired into the target nucleus, causing it to split into two smaller nuclei
- The products of fission move away very quickly
- Energy transferred is from nuclear potential energy to kinetic energy
- The mass of the products (daughter nuclei and neutrons) is less than the mass of the original nucleus
- This is because the remaining mass has been converted into energy which is released during the fission process
Nuclear Fusion
- Small nuclei can react to release energy in a process called nuclear fusion
- Nuclear fusion is defined as:
When two light nuclei join to form a heavier nucleus
- This process requires extremely high temperatures to maintain
- This is why nuclear fusion has proven very hard to reproduce on Earth
- Stars use nuclear fusion to produce energy
- In most stars, hydrogen atoms are fused together to form helium and produce lots of energy
How does nuclear fusion work?
Two hydrogen nuclei are fusing to form a helium nuclei
- The energy produced during nuclear fusion comes from a very small amount of the particle’s mass being converted into energy
- Albert Einstein described the mass-energy equivalence with his famous equation:
- Where:
- E = energy released from fusion in Joules (J)
- m = mass converted into energy in kilograms (kg)
- c = the speed of light in metres per second (m/s)
- Therefore, the mass of the product (fused nucleus) is less than the mass of the two original nuclei
- This is because the remaining mass has been converted into energy which is released when the nuclei fuse
- The amount of energy released during nuclear fusion is huge:
- The energy from 1 kg of hydrogen that undergoes fusion is equivalent to the energy from burning about 10 million kilograms of coal
- An example of a nuclide equation for fusion is:
+ energy
- Where:
- is deuterium (isotope of hydrogen with 1 proton and 1 neutron)
- is hydrogen (with one proton)
- is an isotope with helium (with two protons and one neutron)
Worked example
The nuclear equation for a fission reaction is
Calculate the number of neutrons N emitted in this reaction.
Answer:
Step 1: Calculate the nucleon number on the left side of the equation
LHS: 235 + 1 = 236
Step 2: Calculate the nucleon number on the right side of the equation
RHS: 96 + 138 + N = 233 + N
Step 3: Equate the nucleon number for both sides of the equation
LHS = RHS
236 = 233 + N
Step 4: Rearrange for the number of neutrons N
N = 236 – 233 = 3
- Therefore, 3 neutrons are produced in this fission reaction