What is nuclear fission?
Q: What is nuclear fission?
A: Nuclear fission is a kind of nuclear reaction in which an atom splits apart into smaller atoms, releasing energy in the process.
Q: Who discovered nuclear fission?
A: Nuclear fission was discovered in December 1938 by the German nuclear chemist Otto Hahn and his assistant Fritz Strassmann in Berlin.
Q: What are atoms made up of?
A: Atoms are made of three components or particles - protons, neutrons and electrons. The protons and neutrons are clumped together in a ball called a nucleus at the center of every atom, while the electrons orbit around the nucleus in its 'electron cloud'.
Q: Which elements can be made to undergo fission?
A: Elements which have large nuclei, such as uranium and plutonium, can be made to undergo fission.
Q: How does a chain-reaction occur during nuclear fission?
A: If a (relatively) very large atomic nucleus is hit by a slow-moving neutron, it will sometimes become unstable and break into two nuclei. When this happens it releases energy as well as some neutrons from the nucleus. If those neutrons then hit other atoms they will make them split too, causing a chain-reaction that can release huge amounts of energy.
Q: What is measured when measuring energy released from a nuclear bomb explosion? A: The amount of energy released from a nuclear bomb explosion is measured in kilotons; one kiloton being equivalent to the energy of one thousand tons of TNT (trinitrotoluene).
Q: How is heat generated during nuclear fission used?
A: In a nuclear reactor, heat generated during nuclear fission must happen slowly to create heat which is then used to boil water into steam that turns steam turbines to generate electricity.
