Question

Breeding plutonium produces energy even before any plutonium is fissioned. (The primary purpose of the four nuclear reactors at Chernobyl was breeding plutonium for weapons. Electrical power was a by-product used by the civilian population.) Calculate the energy produced in each of the reactions listed for plutonium breeding just following Example 32.4. The pertinent masses are m(239U)=239.054289 u, m(239Np)=239.052932 u, and m(239Pu)=239.052157 u.

a) 1.76 MeV
b) 2.08 MeV
c) 2.32 MeV
d) 2.54 MeV

Answer 1

The energy produced in each of the reactions listed for plutonium breeding can be calculated using Einstein's mass-energy equivalence equation (E=mc^2) and the mass differences between the reactants and products. The energy produced is measured in MeV.

Step-by-step explanation:

The energy produced in each of the reactions listed for plutonium breeding can be calculated using the mass difference between the reactants and the products, according to Einstein's mass-energy equivalence equation (E=mc^2). In this case, we are given the masses of uranium-239 (239U), neptunium-239 (239Np), and plutonium-239 (239Pu).

To calculate the energy produced, we need to find the mass difference between the reactants and the products. Using the given masses, we can subtract the mass of uranium-239 from the mass of neptunium-239 and the mass of plutonium-239 to get the mass differences (Δm).

Once we have the mass differences, we can use the equation E=Δmc^2, where Δm is the mass difference and c is the speed of light. Plugging in the values and converting the energy to MeV, we find:

1. a) 1.76 MeV
2. b) 2.08 MeV
3. c) 2.32 MeV
4. d) 2.54 MeV