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fission barrier
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schematic illustrations of single-humped and double-humped fission barriers potential energy as a function of elongation of a fissioning nucleus
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fission barrier

physics
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schematic illustrations of single-humped and double-humped fission barriers
schematic illustrations of single-humped and double-humped fission barriers Figure 7: Schematic illustrations of single-humped and double-humped fission barriers. The former are represented by the dashed line and the latter by the continuous line. Intrinsic excitations in the first and second wells at deformations β1 and β2 are designated class I and class II states, respectively. Intrinsic channels at the two barriers also are illustrated. The transition in the shape of the nucleus as a function of deformation is schematically represented in the upper part of the figure. Spontaneous fission of the ground state and isomeric state occurs from the lowest energy class I and class II states, respectively.

The fission barrier is a concept in nuclear physics that describes the energy required to split an atomic nucleus. Nuclei, composed of neutrons and protons, are held together by the strong nuclear force. However, the repulsive Coulomb force between positively charged protons can destabilize the nucleus.

When a nucleus is excited, it can deform. The fission barrier arises from the interplay between the surface tension (which favors a spherical shape) and the Coulomb repulsion (which increases with deformation). If the nucleus gains enough energy to overcome this barrier, it can split into two smaller nuclei, releasing a significant amount of energy. This process, known as nuclear fission, can be induced by particles like neutrons. The height and shape of this barrier vary for different nuclei.123

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6 Britannica Sources
  1. nuclear fission - Induced fission
  2. nuclear fission - Structure and stability of nuclear matter
  3. liquid-drop model
  4. nuclear fission
  5. nuclear fission - Nuclear models and nuclear fission
  6. nuclear weapon - The fission process

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