Energy production by nuclear fission

For the production of energy by nuclear fission the following features are decisive  

The energy AE can be assessed from the mean binding energy per nucleon (Fig. 2.6) to amount to 200 MeV. In case of fission of AE is shared out in the following way  

The sum of the kinetic energy of the fission products and the energy of decay can be determined calorimetrically. The energy of the neutrons and the y rays is usable only inasmuch as neutrons and y rays are absorbed in the medium considered. The energy of the neutrinos is lost, because of their small interaction with matter. 

11 Nuclear Energy, Nuclear Reactors, Nuclear Fuel and Fuel Cycles 

The possibility of operating nuclear fission in the form of a chain reaction is governed by the effective multiplication factor keir, the ratio of the munber of neutrons in the second generation to that in the first generation  

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Energy production by nuclear fission and by thermonuclear reactions has been discussed in chapter 11. In this section, energy production in radionuclide batteries by the radiation emitted by radionuclides will be considered. 

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