Nuclear fission and fusion

What is nuclear fission?

the splitting of a large nucleus into two daughter nuclei.

to what kind of nuclei does nuclear fission occur?

very large, unstable nuclei

how often does nuclear fission occur

it is completely random

(however it can also be induced)

Why is energy released during fission

Energy is released during fission because the smaller daughter nuclei have a higher binding energy per nucleon then the original large nucleus

What can be said about nuclear fission compared to nuclear fusion

They are exact opposites.

what is nuclear fusion?

The combining of 2 daughter nuclei to from one large nucleus (only occurs in small nuclei)

Why is energy released during fusion?

Energy is released during fusion because the larger nucleus has a much higher binding energy per nucleon.

compare the energy released by fission compared to fusion

Fusion releases far more energy than fission

What conditions are required for fusion

fusion can only occur at extremely high temperatures (for example in stars)

Why?

a massive amount of energy is required to overcome the electrostatic force of repulsion between nuclei.

How could you find the binding energy per nucleon?

The binding energy per nucleon is simply the binding energy of a nucleus divided by the number of nucleons in the nucleus.

What element has the highest binding energy per nucleon?

Iron