Introduction to Nuclear Fission and Fusion

📋 Course Outline

1. Nuclear fission and chain reactions
2. Fission reactors and electricity generation
3. Nuclear power advantages and waste
4. Nuclear accidents and Chernobyl
5. Global nuclear power use
6. Radioactivity and radiation types
7. Nuclear fusion in stars and reactors

📖 1. Nuclear fission and chain reactions

🔑 Key Concepts & Definitions

• Nuclear fission : Nuclear fission is the splitting of a large, unstable nucleus into smaller nuclei while releasing energy and neutrons.
• Chain reaction : A chain reaction is a self-sustaining process where neutrons released by splitting nuclei trigger further fissions.
• Unstable nucleus : An unstable nucleus is a nucleus that can split when it absorbs a neutron and becomes even less stable.
• Neutron absorption : Neutron absorption is when a nucleus takes in a neutron, making it more likely to split and produce more neutrons.

📝 Essential Points

• A fired neutron can be absorbed by uranium-235, increasing instability until the nucleus splits into two smaller nuclei.
• Each fission releases energy and additional neutrons that can be absorbed by other unstable nuclei.
• Fission repeats again and again because those new neutrons keep triggering further fissions, which is the chain reaction idea.

💡 Memory Hook

Think of fission as dominos: one hit neutron causes a split that sends more neutrons to hit the next.

📖 2. Fission reactors and electricity generation