Chemistry 12th Edition

Published by McGraw-Hill Education
ISBN 10: 0078021510
ISBN 13: 978-0-07802-151-0

Chapter 19 - Nuclear Chemistry - Questions & Problems - Page 893: 19.43

Answer

Nuclear fission produces the atomic bomb, a weapon of mass destruction that uses power released by the splitting of atomic nuclei. When a single free neutron strikes the nucleus of an atom of radioactive material like uranium or plutonium, it knocks two or three more neutrons free. Energy is released when those neutrons split off from the nucleus, and the newly released neutrons strike other uranium or plutonium nuclei, splitting them in the same way, releasing more energy and more neutrons. This chain reaction spreads almost instantaneously.

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