Question

Discuss the process of nuclear fission and its properties.

Answer 1

1. In 1939, German scientists Otto Hahn and F. Strassman discovered that when the uranium nucleus is bombarded with a slow neutron, it breaks up into two smaller nuclei of comparable masses with the release of energy.
   
   Nuclear fission
2. The process of breaking up of the nucleus of a heavier atom into two smaller nuclei with the release of a large amount of energy is called nuclear fission.
3. The fission is accompanied by the release of neutrons. The energy that is released in nuclear fission is of many orders of magnitude greater than the energy released in chemical reactions.
4. Uranium undergoes fission reaction in 90 different Neutrons ways. The most common fission reactions of \[\ce{^235_92 U}\] nuclei are shown here.
   \[\ce{^235_92U + ^1_0n ->^236_92U^* -> ^141_56Ba + ^92_36Kr + 3 ^1_0n + Q}\]
   
   \[\ce{^235_92U + ^1_0n ->^236_92U^* -> ^140_54Xe + ^94_38Sr + 2 ^1_0n + Q}\]
5. Here Q is the energy released during the decay of each uranium nuclei. When the slow neutron is absorbed by the uranium nuclei, the mass number increases by one and goes to an excited state \[\ce{^236_92 U^*}\]. But this excited state does not last longer than 10^-12s and decays into two daughter nuclei along with 2 or 3 neutrons. From each reaction, on average, 2.5 neutrons are emitted.