Nuclear Fission Reaction

Nuclear Fission Reaction

When the nucleus of an atom splits into lighter nuclei through a nuclear reaction the process is termed as nuclear fission reaction. This decay may be natural spontaneous splitting by radioactive decay, or in a lab under necessary conditions (bombarding with neutrinos). The resulting fragments tend to have a combined mass which is less than the original. The missing mass is what is converted into nuclear energy in the above reaction.
In 1934, Fermi observed that uranium on being bombarded with neutrons emits electrons and some other products of disintegration. Hahn and Strassman in 1939 found that when a uranium-235 is bombarded with slow neutron, the uranium nucleus undergoes fission and produces smaller fragments. The following nuclear fission reaction occurs and tremendous quantity of energy in the form of heat and light is produced.
₉₂U²³⁵ + ₀n¹ → ₅₆Ba¹⁴¹ + ₃₆Kr⁹² + 3n + Heat Energy
Thus the breaking up of a nucleus producing smaller fragments and tremendous amount of energy in the form of heat, light, sound and α, ß, Y-rays is called nuclear fission reaction.
Since, more neutrons are generated during the reaction, the process becomes a chain reaction as shown below-

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Nuclear Fusion Reaction

Difference Between Nuclear Fission and Nuclear Fusion Reaction

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