Chapter 21 Vocabulary Flashcards
Nuclear Binding Energy
The energy required to separate a nucleus into its individual nucleons
Critical Mass
The amount of fissionable material large enough to maintain a chain reaction with a constant rate of fission
Subcritical Mass
A sample that is not massive enough to sustain a chain reaction
Ionizing radiation
Radiation with enough energy to knock electrons off some atoms of a bombarded substance to produce ions
Nuclear transmutation
A nuclear reaction induced by collision between a nucleus and a neutron or another nucleus
Becquerel (bq)
The SI unit for expressing activity; defined as 1 nuclear disintegration per second
Curie (Ci)
Unit of activity defined as 3.7x10^10 disintegrations per second
Radiotracer
A radioisotope that can be used to trace the path of the element
Mass defect
The mass difference between a nucleus and it’s constituent nucleons
Fission
A nuclear reaction in which a massive nucleus splits into a smaller nuclei with the simultaneous release of energy
Fusion
Creation of energy by joining the nuclei of two hydrogen atoms to form helium
Chain reaction
A chemical reaction or other process in which the product themselves promote or spread the reaction, which under certain conditions may accelerate dramatically
Supercritical mass
A mass in excess of the critical mass
Thermonuclear reactions
Another name for fusion reactions; reactions in which two nuclei are joined to form a more massive one
Non ionizing radiation
Radiation that does not cause ionization; generally lower energy
