Chapter 7.1 - 'Nuclear Fission And Energy' Flashcards
State what ‘nuclear fission’ refers to.
State a cause.
A reaction where a nucleus splits, releasing energy as neutrons.
Can be caused by collision of another particle.
Define ‘fissile’.
An atom that is able to under go fission.
State wether fission is more likely to occur through a slow or fast moving neutron.
State why.
It is more likely to occur through a slow moving neutron.
Because it is more easily captured.
State what fission fragments refers to.
The daughter nuclei.
State what the energy of subatomic particles and radiation are measured in.
State what 1 Joule would be equal to.
Electronvolts, eV
1.6 x 10^-19
State what ‘binding energy’ refers to.
The energy holding the nucleus together.
State the equation for the energy released as a result of a mass defect.
E = mc^2
E is the energy in joules
m is the mass in kg
c is the speed of light 3.0 x 10^8 m/s
State the eV release in alpha particle decay vs nuclear fission.
Alpha particle decay usually releases 5-10 MeV, whilst nuclear fission usually involves a release of around 200 MeV.
State the forms of energy release in nuclear fission.
Kinetic energy of fission fragments and neutrons and emissions of energy through gamma radiation.
State wether the mass of the incident neutron and parent nucleus is greater or smaller than that of the combined fission products.
State why this is so.
The mass of the parent and incident neutron is greater.
Because a small portion of mass is exchanged as usable energy.
Regarding the strong nuclear force and electromagnetic force, explain why nuclides do not blow apart.
Although protons exert an electromagnetic force on each other, all nuclides also exert a force of attraction, called the strong nuclear force. Although the the strong nuclear force has a smaller radius, it is quite stronger than the repelling electromagnetic force.
