ENERGY RELEASE FROM FISSION

Nuclear Fission Summary

Figure 21 Uranium-235 Fission Yield vs. Mass Number

Nuclear Physics and Reactor Theory Volume 1 of 2
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1 0 n 235 92 U 236 92 U 140 55 Cs 93 37 Rb 3 1 0 n ENERGY RELEASE FROM FISSION DOE-HDBK-1019/1-93 Atomic and Nuclear Physics NP-01 Page 56 Rev. 0 ENERGY RELEASE FROM FISSION Fission of heavy nuclides converts a small amount of mass into an enormous amount of energy. The amount of energy released by fission can be determined based on either the change in mass that occurs during the reaction or by the difference in binding energy per nucleon between the fissile nuclide and the fission products. EO 4.8 CHARACTERIZE the fission products in terms of mass groupings and radioactivity. EO 4.9 Given the nuclides involved and their masses, CALCULATE the energy released from fission. EO 4.10 Given the curve of Binding Energy per nucleon versus mass number, CALCULATE the energy released from fission. Calculation of Fission Energy Nuclear fission results in the release of enormous quantities of energy. It is necessary to be able to calculate the amount of energy that will be produced. The logical manner in which to pursue this is to first investigate a typical fission reaction such as the one listed below. It can be seen that when the compound nucleus splits, it breaks into two fission fragments, rubidium-93, cesium-140, and some neutrons. Both fission products then decay by multiple ^- emissions as a result of the high neutron-to-proton ratio possessed by these nuclides. In most cases, the resultant fission fragments have masses that vary widely. Figure 21 gives the percent yield for atomic mass numbers. The most probable pair of fission fragments for the thermal fission of the fuel uranium-235 have masses of about 95 and 140. Note that the vertical axis of the fission yield curve is on a logarithmic scale. Therefore, the formation of fission fragments of mass numbers of about 95 and 140 is highly likely.

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