Nuclear Fission

Nuclear fission - the splitting of a large atomic nucleus into smaller nuclei 1) In a nuclear reactor, a neutron is absorbed into a nucleus (uranium-235). Causing nucleus to become uranium-236 => violently unstable 2) Nucleus splits into 2 large fragments - daughter nuclei & 2/3 neutrons explode out of the fission reaction & can collide with other uranium nuclei to cause more fission reactions - Chain reaction 3) The fast moving neutrons carry most of the energy from the reaction with them (99%) but before the neutrons can collide with fresh uranium nuclei, they need to be slowed down so that the energy can pass on to other components in the nuclear reactor, which is used to heat water to drive the turbines that turn the generators