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nuclear fission: Quick Facts

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Facts

Also Known As atomic fission • induced fission

Photos and Videos

Enrico Fermi
average binding energy per nucleon as a function of the mass number
potential energy as a function of elongation of a fissioning nucleus
Diagram showing the sequence of uranium nucleus fission after being struck by a neutron: the nucleus absorbs the neutron, deforms, splits into fragments, releases more neutrons and gamma rays, and emits beta particles as the fragments decay. Labels identify neutrons, protons, beta particles, and gamma rays, with accompanying explanatory text.
mass distribution dependence on the energy excitation in the fission of uranium-235
schematic illustrations of single-humped and double-humped fission barriers
Nuclear fission and fusion
What is the difference between nuclear fission and fusion?
What the fission of a uranium nucleus by a neutron looks like
How does a nuclear power plant generate electricity?
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Key People

Otto Hahn
Otto Hahn
German chemist
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Fritz Strassmann
German chemist
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Igor Vasilyevich Kurchatov
Soviet physicist
Ida Noddack
Ida Noddack
German chemist
John Archibald Wheeler
John Archibald Wheeler
American physicist
Lise Meitner
Lise Meitner
Austrian physicist
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Otto Robert Frisch
Austrian physicist
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John R. Dunning
American physicist