Quote:
Originally posted by spikegifted
Nuclear fission works because the nuclei of some elements, due to extra neutrons they carry, are unstable. Upon fission, the nucleus of the original atom (which has a high level of energy used up to bound the particles together) is split into smaller atoms (which require lower levels of energy to hold the particles together). The excess energy is given out as particles (neutrons) and electro-magnetic radiation (x-rays, gamma rays, etc). The overall energy is conserved because the total energy of the system before fission (ie. neutron travelling towards the nucleus at high speed + energy bounded in unstable nucleus) is the same as the total energy of the system after fission (ie. neutrons travalling away from the fissioned nuclei + radiation + energy bounded in stable nuclei).
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