Question

Explain why nuclear fission and nuclear fusion release large amounts of energy

Answer 1

Sample Response: In nuclear fission, the mass of the original nucleus is greater than the mass of the products. The extra mass is converted to energy. In nuclear fusion, the total binding energy of the lighter nuclei is greater than the binding energy of the heavier nucleus. Extra energy is released during the reaction.

Step-by-step explanation:

on edge

Answer 2

Because the factor
`c^2` is huge

Step-by-step explanation:

- The process of nuclear fission occurs when a heavy, unstable nucleus break apart into two or more lighter, more stable nuclei

- The process of nuclear fusion occurs when two (or more) light nuclei fuse together into a heavier nucleus

In both processes, the total mass of the final products of the process is smaller than the total mass of the initial nuclei in the process.

Therefore, this means that part of the initial mass of the nuclei has converted into energy, according to Einsten's equivalence:

`E=\Delta mc^2`

where

E is the energy released in the process

`\Delta m` is the mass defect, which is the difference between the final total mass and the initial total mass

`c=3.0 \cdot 10^8 m/s` is the speed of light

Since the factor
`c^2` is a huge number, we can see that even if the mass defect
`\Delta m` is tiny, these processes result in a huge amount of energy released.