nuclear energy Flashcards
what change occurs in any change where energy is released
the total mass after the change is always less than the total mass before the change
this is due to some of the mass being converted to energy which is released
what is mass defect
the difference between the mass of the seperated nucleons and the mass of the nucleus
what is the binding energy of the nucleus
the work that must be done to seperate a nucleus into its constituent neutrons and protons
what is the binding energy per nucleon of a nucleus
the average work done per nucleon to remove all the nucleons from a nucleus
it is therefore a measure of stability of the nucleus
what is nuclear fission
the process in which a large unstable nucleus splits into two fragments that are more stable than the original nucleus
what happens to the binding energy per nucleon in nuclear fission
it increases in this process
what is nuclear fusion
the process of making small nuclei fuse together to form a larger nucleus
product nucleus has more binding energy per nucleon than the smaller nuclei
what happens to the binding energy per nucleon in nuclear fusion
it increases in this process provided the nucleon number of the product nucleus is no more than 50
what is the function of moderator
to slow down the neutron to a smiliar kinetic energy to that of the moderator
what is the function of control rods
to absorb the excess neutrons so that on average only 1 neutron carries on to induced fission
what is critical mass
the minimum mass of the fissile isotope nessecary to produce a chain reaction
what is a chain reaction
when neutrons released by a nuclear fission cause other nuclei to fission and release more neutrons
what is a thermal neutron
a low energy neutron
