NUCLEAR FUSION NUCLEAR FISSION
chools/gcsebitesize/scie nce/add_aqa/atoms_rad iation/nuclearact.shtmlhttp:// chools/gcsebitesize/scie nce/add_aqa/atoms_rad iation/nuclearact.shtml Fission Fusion
Nuclear Fission and Fusion Fission: Splitting a heavy nucleus into two nuclei with smaller mass numbers.
Fission
Nuclear Fission & POWER Currently about 103 nuclear power plants in the U.S. and about 435 worldwide. 17% of the world’s energy comes from nuclear.
Nuclear Fission and Fusion Fusion: Combining two light nuclei to form a heavier, more stable nucleus.
Fusion The Sun
Energy and Mass Nuclear changes occur with small but measurable losses of mass. The mass is converted to energy according to Einstein’s equation: E = mc 2 m = mass E = change in energy c = speed of light Because c 2 is so large, even small amounts of mass are converted to enormous amount of energy.
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A Fission Reactor
Fission Processes A self-sustaining fission process is called a chain reaction.