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Nuclear Fission

            
             Nuclear energy the energy stored in the nucleus of an atom and released through fission, fusion, or radioactivity. In these processes a small amount of mass is converted to enormous amounts of energy according to the relationship E = mc2, where E is energy, m is mass, and c is the speed of light.
             Nuclear fission was first discovered in 1938 by two scientist whose names are Otto Hahn and Fritz Strassman. Hahn and Strassman's experiment wass supposed to be a repetition on Enrico Fermi's earlier experiment which produced Neptunium-239 after the bombardment of Uranium-238. To their dismay, Hahn and Strassman produced barium in their experiment which was unjustly ruled as an impurity. They also noticed a missing amount of matter during this reaction which contradicted the Law of Conservation of Matter. These scientists were unfortunate in explaining what had just happened in their experiment. Their experiment was later interpreted correctly by Lise Meitner 1939. Meitner concluded that a Uranium nucleus had split during this reaction producing a source of tremendous amount of energy along with the Barium and other elements. Meitner's conclusions were not proved until later investigations.
             Nuclear Fission can be used in two ways: to aid or to injure. The aiding portion consists of providing electrical energy to power the machines that simplify life's daily tasks. Unfortunately, fission can also be used to power weapons of mass destruction such as the atomic bomb.
             Most elements have very stable atoms which are very hard to split except by nuclear bombardment and particle accelerators. Uranium is the one element that can be split fairly easy. .
             There are two isotopes of Uranium which are U-238 and U-235. U-238 consists of 146 neutrons and 92 protons while the U-235 consists of only 143 neutrons and 92 protons. U-235 has atoms that can be split which can be useful in making atomic bombs unlike U-238.


Essays Related to Nuclear Fission

1. Nuclear Power 2

... complex subject and deals with a lot of social, scientific and political issues. The scientific side to Nuclear Power is probably the most complex of the three. Nuclear Power can turn you into ash in nanoseconds, render you retarded, or simply power your home. The process of nuclear fission, safety, destruction, will be discussed in the following pages along with history, present and future of ... on the atomic level, an element usually uranium 235 which has 235 protons and neutrons in its nucleus and a neutron. In a nuclear reactor the uranium used is always enriched which has an incre...

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2. Uses of Nuclear Fission

... effects. Otto Frisch and other scientists working on the project of nuclear fission would have never expected the how nuclear fission would influence the lives of billions of people. Many people do not realize how much nuclear fission really impacts society wiether it would be in the creation of nuclear weapon or the production of nuclear power. Nuclear fission is when the nucleus of an atom is forced to split ... table can do this. In most cases, the higher the number of the element, the more likely it is to be radioactive and likely to be an element used for nuclear fission. That occu...

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3. Fission

... must be a consideration for the future with the rapidly depleting supply of fossil fuels. This type of energy can be created through nuclear fission. Cost and availability of fuel is a considerable factor when dealing with nuclear power. Fission requires an element that can easily split in a particle accelerator, such as uranium or plutonium. The abundance of uranium provides a virtually unlimited supply ... of fuel for nuclear fission. Furthermore, fission does not produce the greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to global warming and acid rain. Although the radioactive waste produ...

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4. The Nuclear Reactor Theory

... only take one millionth of the same amount of Uranium to be fission to power the same 100 watt light bulb for 24 hours with no green house or NOx gases released into are atmosphere as a byproduct of the reaction. Now that we can see a little of the benefits of nuclear power generation let's explore what actually happens inside of the reactor ... and they are Uranium235 and Thorium232. (Sekimoto, p 19) In the United State's we chose in the early 1960's to concentrate our nuclear research efforts on Uranium, for economic reasons and because it can fission by Thermal neutrons. In order to ...

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5. Nuclear Power

... 18 Aron ) Shoreham was a low-pressure boiling water reactor. It was the same kind of nuclear reactor that has been producing electricity in Millstone, Connecticut since the late 1980s. Here are the steps of how Shoreham would have made electricity. Nuclear fission occurs when atoms" nucleus" split and cause a nuclear reaction. When a free neutron splits a nucleus, energy is released along with free neutrons ... , fission fragments that give off beta rays, and gamma rays. A free neutron from the nucleus that just split splits another ... The isotope would be to diluted to cause any kind ...

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6. Nuclear Power

... massive cost in terms of the disruption caused by displacement in the environment. Yet how much do you know about nuclear fission, the process that gives us power and energy? The development of nuclear power was once seen as a cheap and near abundant source of energy. However concerns about the safety of ... debate today is fiercer than ever. Yet the potential of a new breed of nuclear reactors to boost our energy production may only be around the corner. We need to know what is involved. At its heart nuclear fission reaction is the splitting of an atom into two or more parts. Everythin...

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7. Nuclear Power for New Jersey

... Atlantic Region's population is quite high, we believe that having only one energy source would not be sufficient enough, which is why we chose to offer both hydro electricity, and nuclear fission. Because 3 out of 4 of the Mid Atlantic Region states border the Atlantic Ocean, we believe that hydro electric power would be a fantastic source of energy! Not only is it conveniently ... as the main energy source for the MAR (Mid-Atlantic Region) would completely benefit the region in future years by giving safe and dependable energy for our future. Nuclear power is produced by nuclear fissi...

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8. nuclear energy

... energy to generate electricity. (World Book vol. 14, 586) Nuclear power plants generate only about eleven percent of the world's electricity. There are around 316 nuclear power plants in the world that create 213,000 megawatts of electricity. (INFOPEDIA) Radioactive, or nuclear, waste is the by-product of nuclear fission. Fission occurs when atoms" nucleus" split and cause a nuclear reaction. (General Information) When a free neutron splits a nucleus ... , energy is released along with free neutrons, fission fragments that give off beta rays, and gamma rays. A free neutron from the nucle...

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9. Nuclear Power Uses

... other energy sources. But, what do we mean by nuclear energy? Nuclear energy refers to the energy that we can obtain if we split atoms. Atoms have neutrons, protons (both in nucleus) and electrons (around nucleus). If nucleus breaks up, huge amount of energy is released. This procedure is called fission. The energy is explained by the difference of mass ... nitrogen gases, and other pollutants into the atmosphere. Nuclear power plants generate only about eleven percent of the world's electricity. There are around 316 nuclear power plants in the world that creates 213,000 megawatts of elec...

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