Fast fission is
fission that occurs when a heavy
atom
Atoms are the basic particles of the chemical elements. An atom consists of a atomic nucleus, nucleus of protons and generally neutrons, surrounded by an electromagnetically bound swarm of electrons. The chemical elements are distinguished fr ...
absorbs a high-energy
neutron
The neutron is a subatomic particle, symbol or , that has no electric charge, and a mass slightly greater than that of a proton. The Discovery of the neutron, neutron was discovered by James Chadwick in 1932, leading to the discovery of nucle ...
, called a
fast neutron, and splits. Most fissionable materials need
thermal neutron
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 wit ...
s, which move more slowly.
Fast reactors vs. thermal reactors
Fast neutron reactors use fast fission to produce energy, unlike most
nuclear reactor
A nuclear reactor is a device used to initiate and control a Nuclear fission, fission nuclear chain reaction. They are used for Nuclear power, commercial electricity, nuclear marine propulsion, marine propulsion, Weapons-grade plutonium, weapons ...
s. 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
Uranium is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol U and atomic number 92. It is a silvery-grey metal in the actinide series of the periodic table. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons. Ura ...
or
plutonium
Plutonium is a chemical element; it has symbol Pu and atomic number 94. It is a silvery-gray actinide metal that tarnishes when exposed to air, and forms a dull coating when oxidized. The element normally exhibits six allotropes and four ...
at the reactor startup so that the neutrons have a better chance of fissioning atoms.
Fissionable but not
fissile
In nuclear engineering, fissile material is material that can undergo nuclear fission when struck by a neutron of low energy. A self-sustaining thermal Nuclear chain reaction#Fission chain reaction, chain reaction can only be achieved with fissil ...
Some atoms, notably
uranium-238
Uranium-238 ( or U-238) is the most common isotope of uranium found in nature, with a relative abundance of 99%. Unlike uranium-235, it is non-fissile, which means it cannot sustain a chain reaction in a thermal-neutron reactor. However, it i ...
, do not usually undergo fission when struck by slow neutrons, but do split when struck with neutrons of high enough energy.
[H.W.B. Skinner]
The A B C of nuclear weapons
// The New Scientist, 26 February 1959, page 473-475: "(3) Dirty H-bombs" The fast neutrons produced in a
hydrogen bomb
A thermonuclear weapon, fusion weapon or hydrogen bomb (H-bomb) is a second-generation nuclear weapon design. Its greater sophistication affords it vastly greater destructive power than first-generation nuclear bombs, a more compact size, a lo ...
by fusion of
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 c ...
and
tritium
Tritium () or hydrogen-3 (symbol T or H) is a rare and radioactive isotope of hydrogen with a half-life of ~12.33 years. The tritium nucleus (t, sometimes called a ''triton'') contains one proton and two neutrons, whereas the nucleus of the ...
have even higher energy than the fast neutrons produced in a nuclear reactor. This makes it possible to increase the yield of any given fusion weapon by the simple expedient of adding layers of cheap natural (or even depleted) uranium. Fast fission of uranium-238 provides a large part of the explosive yield, and
fallout, in many designs of hydrogen bomb.
Differences in fission product yield
A graph of
fission product yield against the
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 appro ...
of the fission fragments has two pronounced but fairly flat peaks, at around 90 to 100, and 130 to 140. With thermal neutrons, yields of fission products with mass between the peaks, such as
113mCd,
119mSn,
121mSn,
123Sn,
125Sb,
126Sn, and
127Sb are very low.
The higher the energy of the state that undergoes nuclear fission, the more likely a symmetric fission is, hence as the
neutron energy increases and/or the energy of the fissioning atom increases, the valley between the two peaks becomes more shallow; for instance, the curve of yield against mass for
239Pu has a more shallow valley than that observed for
235U, when the neutrons are
thermal neutron
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 wit ...
s. The curves for the fission of the later
actinides tend to make even more shallow valleys. In extreme cases such as
259Fm, only one peak is seen.
References
{{Reflist
Nuclear physics
Nuclear fission