Beruflich Dokumente
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Thermal Physics
June, 2018
Nuclear Fission
E = mc 2
Where:
E: obtained energy (Joules)
m: mass lost in the form of energy (Kilograms)
c: light velocity (3 × 108 m/s)
Figure 1: Nuclear fission scheme.
A high-energy neutron (≈ 1Mev) is collided with an atom of
U235 giving as products 2 light nuclei and 3 high-energy
neutrons (≈120 MeV).
If a chain reaction is established (Figure 2) sustained by these
high-energy neutrons, under certain conditions, the number of
fissions increases exponentially with time, because each fission
produces more neutrons than it absorbs, so the energy released
Figure 2: Chain reaction scheme.
Nuclear Fission under controlled conditions
2 Nuclear Physics
Irving Kaplan
Addison Wesley