Nuclear fission Einsteins equation

Nuclear energy in almost inconceivable quantities can be obtained from nuclear fission and fusion reactions according to Einstein s famous equation. 

Hiroshima exploded with energy equivalent to about 20,000 tons of TNT.18 But where does all of this energy come from Unlike ordinary chemical reactions, nuclear fission does not involve breaking and forming chemical bonds. Instead, the energy comes from the loss of mass that accompanies the fission reaction. Most, if not all, of the students will be familiar with Einstein s famous equation, E = me2, but few are likely to understand what it means.19 In 1939, Lise Meitner and her nephew Robert Frisch reported their discovery of nuclear fission.20 They realized that the energy that accompanied the fission of uranium nuclei could be accounted for by using Einstein s equation. 

STRATEGY If we know the mass loss, we can find the energy released by using Einstein s equation. Therefore, we must calculate the total mass of the particles on each side of the nuclear equation, take the difference, and substitute the mass difference into Eq. 6. Then we determine the number of nuclei in the sample from N = m(sample)/m(atom) and, finally, multiply the energy released from the fission of one nucleus bv that number to find the energy released by the sample. 

Energy released during fission is calculated by using Einstein s equation. -> For a balanced nuclear reaction,... 

Fission fi-sh n, -zh n [L fission-, fission, fr. findere to split] (ca. 1617) n. A nuclear reaction from which the atoms produced are each approximately half the mass of the parent nucleus. In other words, the atom is split into two approximately equal masses. There is also the emission of extremely great quantities of energy since the sum of the masses of the two new atoms is less than the mass of the parent heavy atom. The energy released is expressed by Einstein s equation. Serway RA, Faugh JS, Bennett CV (2005) College physics. Thomas, New York. 

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