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Fast Fission
Fast fission is fission that occurs when a heavy atom absorbs a high-energy neutron, called a fast neutron, and splits. Most fissionable materials need thermal neutrons, which move more slowly. Fast reactors vs. thermal reactors Fast neutron reactors use fast fission to produce energy, unlike most nuclear reactors. In a conventional reactor, a moderator is needed to slow down the neutrons so that they are more likely to fission atoms. A fast neutron reactor uses fast neutrons, so it does not use a moderator. Moderators may absorb a lot of neutrons in a thermal reactor, and fast fission produces a higher average number of neutrons per fission, so fast reactors have better neutron economy making a plutonium breeder reactor possible. However, a fast neutron reactor must use relatively highly enriched uranium or plutonium at the reactor startup so that the neutrons have a better chance of fissioning atoms. Fissionable but not fissile Some atoms, notably uranium-238, do not usua ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nuclear Fission
Nuclear fission is a reaction in which the nucleus of an atom splits into two or more smaller nuclei. The fission process often produces gamma photons, and releases a very large amount of energy even by the energetic standards of radioactive decay. Nuclear fission was discovered by chemists Otto Hahn and Fritz Strassmann and physicists Lise Meitner and Otto Robert Frisch. Hahn and Strassmann proved that a fission reaction had taken place on 19 December 1938, and Meitner and her nephew Frisch explained it theoretically in January 1939. Frisch named the process "fission" by analogy with biological fission of living cells. In their second publication on nuclear fission in February 1939, Hahn and Strassmann predicted the existence and liberation of additional neutrons during the fission process, opening up the possibility of a nuclear chain reaction. For heavy nuclides, it is an exothermic reaction which can release large amounts of energy both as electromagnetic radiat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Deuterium
Deuterium (hydrogen-2, symbol H or D, also known as heavy hydrogen) is one of two stable isotopes of hydrogen; the other is protium, or hydrogen-1, H. The deuterium nucleus (deuteron) contains one proton and one neutron, whereas the far more common H has no neutrons. The name ''deuterium'' comes from Greek '' deuteros'', meaning "second". American chemist Harold Urey discovered deuterium in 1931. Urey and others produced samples of heavy water in which the H had been highly concentrated. The discovery of deuterium won Urey a Nobel Prize in 1934. Nearly all deuterium found in nature was synthesized in the Big Bang 13.8 billion years ago, forming the primordial ratio of H to H (~26 deuterium nuclei per 10 hydrogen nuclei). Deuterium is subsequently produced by the slow stellar proton–proton chain, but rapidly destroyed by exothermic fusion reactions. The deuterium–deuterium reaction has the second-lowest energy threshold, and is the most astrophysically acce ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Isotopes Of Fermium
Fermium (100Fm) is a synthetic element, and thus a standard atomic weight cannot be given. Like all artificial elements, it has no stable isotopes. The first isotope to be discovered (in fallout from nuclear testing) was 255Fm in 1952. 250Fm was independently synthesized shortly after the discovery of 255Fm. There are 20 known radioisotopes ranging in atomic mass from 241Fm to 260Fm (260Fm is unconfirmed), and 4 nuclear isomers, 247mFm, 250mFm, 251mFm, and 253mFm. The longest-lived isotope is 257Fm with a half-life Half-life is a mathematical and scientific description of exponential or gradual decay. Half-life, half life or halflife may also refer to: Film * Half-Life (film), ''Half-Life'' (film), a 2008 independent film by Jennifer Phang * ''Half Life: ... of 100.5 days, and the longest-lived isomer is 247mFm with a half-life of 5.1 seconds. List of isotopes , - , rowspan=3, 241Fm , rowspan=3 style="text-align:right" , 100 , rowspan=3 style="text-align:rig ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Actinides
The actinide () or actinoid () series encompasses at least the 14 metallic chemical elements in the 5f series, with atomic numbers from 89 to 102, actinium through nobelium. Number 103, lawrencium, is also generally included despite being part of the 6d transition series. The actinide series derives its name from the first element in the series, actinium. The informal chemical symbol An is used in general discussions of actinide chemistry to refer to any actinide. The 1985 IUPAC ''Red Book'' recommends that ''actinoid'' be used rather than ''actinide'', since the suffix ''-ide'' normally indicates a negative ion. However, owing to widespread current use, ''actinide'' is still allowed. Actinium through nobelium are f-block elements, while lawrencium is a d-block element and a transition metal. The series mostly corresponds to the filling of the 5f electron shell, although as isolated atoms in the ground state many have anomalous configurations involving the filling of the 6d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Uranium-235
Uranium-235 ( or U-235) is an isotope of uranium making up about 0.72% of natural uranium. Unlike the predominant isotope uranium-238, it is fissile, i.e., it can sustain a nuclear chain reaction. It is the only fissile isotope that exists in nature as a primordial nuclide. Uranium-235 has a half-life of 703.8 million years. It was discovered in 1935 by Arthur Jeffrey Dempster. Its fission cross section for slow thermal neutrons is about Barn (unit), barns. For fast neutrons it is on the order of 1 barn. Most neutron absorptions induce fission, though a minority (about 15%) result in the formation of uranium-236. Fission properties The fission of one atom of uranium-235 releases () inside the reactor. That corresponds to 19.54 TJ/mole (unit), mol, or 83.14 TJ/kg. [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Plutonium-239
Plutonium-239 ( or Pu-239) is an isotope of plutonium. Plutonium-239 is the primary fissile isotope used for the production of nuclear weapons, although uranium-235 is also used for that purpose. Plutonium-239 is also one of the three main isotopes demonstrated usable as fuel in thermal spectrum nuclear reactors, along with uranium-235 and uranium-233. Plutonium-239 has a half-life of 24,110 years. Nuclear properties The nuclear properties of plutonium-239, as well as the ability to produce large amounts of nearly pure 239Pu more cheaply than highly enriched weapons-grade uranium-235, led to its use in nuclear weapons and nuclear power plants. The fissioning of an atom of uranium-235 in the reactor of a nuclear power plant produces two to three neutrons, and these neutrons can be absorbed by uranium-238 to produce plutonium-239 and other isotopes. Plutonium-239 can also absorb neutrons and fission along with the uranium-235 in a reactor. Of all the common nuclear fuels, 2 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Neutron Energy
The neutron detection temperature, also called the neutron energy, indicates a free neutron's kinetic energy, usually given in electron volts. The term ''temperature'' is used, since hot, thermal and cold neutrons are moderated in a medium with a certain temperature. The neutron energy distribution is then adapted to the Maxwell distribution known for thermal motion. Qualitatively, the higher the temperature, the higher the kinetic energy of the free neutrons. The momentum and wavelength of the neutron are related through the de Broglie relation. The long wavelength of slow neutrons allows for the large cross section. Neutron energy distribution ranges The precise boundaries of neutron energy ranges are not well defined, and differ between sources, but some common names and limits are given in the following table. The following is a detailed classification: Thermal A thermal neutron is a free neutron with a kinetic energy of about 0.025 eV (about 4.0×10−21 J or 2 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Isotopes Of Antimony
Antimony (Sb) occurs in two stable isotopes, Sb and Sb. There are 37 artificial radioactive isotopes, the longest-lived of which are Sb, with a half-life of 2.75856 years; Sb, with half-life 60.2 days; and Sb, with half-life 12.35 days. All other isotopes have half-lives less than 4 days, most less than an hour. There are also many isomers, the longest-lived of which is Sb with half-life 5.76 days. List of isotopes , -id=Antimony-104 , rowspan=4, 104Sb , rowspan=4 style="text-align:right" , 51 , rowspan=4 style="text-align:right" , 53 , rowspan=4, 103.93634(11)# , rowspan=4, 470(130) ms , β+? , 104Sn , rowspan=4, , rowspan=4, , rowspan=4, , - , p (<7%) , 103Sn , - , β+, p (<7%) , 103In , - , α? , 100In , -id=Antimony-105 , rowspan=3, 105Sb , rowspan=3 style="text-align:right" , 51 , rowspan=3 style= ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Isotopes Of Tin
Tin (50Sn) is the element with the greatest number of stable isotopes (ten; three of them are potentially radioactive but have not been observed to decay). This is probably related to the fact that 50 is a " magic number" of protons. In addition, 32 unstable tin isotopes are known, including tin-100 (100Sn) (discovered in 1994) and tin-132 (132Sn), which are both " doubly magic". The longest-lived tin radioisotope is tin-126 (126Sn), with a half-life of 230,000 years. The other 28 radioisotopes have half-lives of less than a year. List of isotopes , -id=Tin-98 , 98Sn , style="text-align:right" , 50 , style="text-align:right" , 48 , , , , , 0+ , , , -id=Tin-99 , rowspan=2, 99SnHeaviest known nuclide with more protons than neutrons , rowspan=2 style="text-align:right" , 50 , rowspan=2 style="text-align:right" , 49 , rowspan=2, 98.94850(63)# , rowspan=2, 24(4) ms , β+ (95%) , 99In , rowspan=2, 9/2+# , rowspan=2, , rowspan=2, , - , β+, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Isotopes Of Cadmium
Naturally occurring cadmium (48Cd) is composed of 8 isotopes. For two of them, natural radioactivity was observed, and three others are predicted to be radioactive but their decays have not been observed, due to extremely long half-lives. The two natural radioactive isotopes are 113Cd (beta decay, half-life is 8.04 × 1015 years) and 116Cd (two-neutrino double beta decay, half-life is 2.8 × 1019 years). The other three are 106Cd, 108Cd ( double electron capture), and 114Cd (double beta decay); only lower limits on their half-life times have been set. Three isotopes—110Cd, 111Cd, and 112Cd—are theoretically stable. Among the isotopes absent in natural cadmium, the most long-lived are 109Cd with a half-life of 462.6 days, and 115Cd with a half-life of 53.46 hours. All of the remaining radioactive isotopes have half-lives that are less than 2.5 hours and the majority of these have half-lives that are less than 5 minutes. This element also has 12 known meta states, with the most s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mass Number
The mass number (symbol ''A'', from the German word: ''Atomgewicht'', "atomic weight"), also called atomic mass number or nucleon number, is the total number of protons and neutrons (together known as nucleons) in an atomic nucleus. It is approximately equal to the ''atomic'' (also known as ''isotopic'') mass of the atom expressed in daltons. Since protons and neutrons are both baryons, the mass number ''A'' is identical with the baryon number ''B'' of the nucleus (and also of the whole atom or ion). The mass number is different for each isotope of a given chemical element, and the difference between the mass number and the atomic number ''Z'' gives the number of neutrons (''N'') in the nucleus: . The mass number is written either after the element name or as a superscript to the left of an element's symbol. For example, the most common isotope of carbon is carbon-12, or , which has 6 protons and 6 neutrons. The full isotope symbol would also have the atomic number ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fission Product Yield
Nuclear fission splits a heavy nucleus such as uranium or plutonium into two lighter nuclei, which are called fission products. Yield refers to the fraction of a fission product produced per fission. Yield can be broken down by: # Individual isotope # Chemical element spanning several isotopes of different mass number but same atomic number. # Nuclei of a given mass number regardless of atomic number. Known as "chain yield" because it represents a decay chain of beta decay. Isotope and element yields will change as the fission products undergo beta decay, while chain yields do not change after completion of neutron emission by a few neutron-rich initial fission products ( delayed neutrons), with half-life measured in seconds. A few isotopes can be produced directly by fission, but not by beta decay because the would-be precursor with atomic number one less is stable and does not decay (atomic number grows by 1 during beta decay). Chain yields do not account for these "shadowed ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
