NUCLEAR POWER

WHAT IS FISSION?

• When an atom splits into two parts, which takes very little energy.
• An atom contains protons and neutrons.
• The nucleus splits because of radioactive decay or it has been taken over by neutrinos.
• The rest of the atom has less mass and the missing mass turns into nuclear energy.
• It also produces highly radioactive particles.

WHAT IS FUSION?

• Fusion occurs when two light atoms fuse together, to form a heavier one.
• The mass of the new of the new atom is less than if the the two atoms were split.
• The missing mass is given off as energy.
• Fusion however does not release many radioactive particles.
• Requires high energy to fuse two or more protons, enough to overcome their electro-static repulsion.

FISSION vs FUSION

• Fission splits a large atom into two or more smaller ones.
• Fusion fuses two or more smaller atoms into a larger one.
• Fission releases more energy than chemical reactions, but less than fusion.
• The energy released by fusion is three/four times greater than fission.
• Fusion occurs is stars such as the sun, while fission does not normally occur in nature.

THE FISSION/ATOMIC BOMB

• Results from the sudden release of energy of the nuclei.
• When elements such as plutonium and uranium split this makes up an atomic bomb.
• When the bomb goes off a great amount of thermal energy and gamma rays are released.
• The thermal energy that is released can achieve temperatures so high it has thrower to incinerate a whole city.
• A fission bomb, aka atomic bomb uses the main element of Uranium.

THE FUSION BOMB

• Unlike the fission bomb a fusion bomb uses the main element of hydrogen.
• It also derives it's energy from fusing hydrogen isotopes into helium.
• A fusion bomb is more efficient, however it also has some kinks that have to be fixed.
• At extremely high temperatures the combination of elements releases a large amount of energy.

NUCLEAR BOMB

• The first nuclear bomb meant to kill humans exploded over Hiroshima, Japan, on Aug. 6, 1945.
• The bomb was the equivalent of 20,000 tons of TNT, which killed thousands and flattened a city.
• Three days later, the United States struck again, this time, on Nagasaki.
• A survivor described the people he saw like walking ghosts.
• They were described this way because their skinned was burned along with their hair.

CLOSE CALL

• In 1961, a U.S. air force bomber was flying over North Carolina when two H-bombs fell out of the aircraft
• Three out of the four safety devices failed, thankfully the fourth one did not failed and the bomb did not explode.
• The blast would have been equivalent to 4 millions of TNT or 200 times larger than the Hiroshima bomb.
• That bomb had the power to devastate millions of lives. This is a good example of how nuclear reactions can be bad.
• This also shows that if this kind of science falls into the wrong hands, things for us could end very badly.

HERES OUR VIDEO

• http://youtu.be/5KMmlSDWFIc
• The race for nuclear fusion

CITATION PAGE

• http://inventors.about.com/od/nstartinventions/a/Nuclear_Fission.htm
• http://science.howstuffworks.com/nuclear-bomb6.htm
• http://www.diffen.com/difference/Nuclear_Fission_vs_Nuclear_Fusion
• http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/41620/atomic-bomb