Nuclear Chain Reaction Definition Chemistry

The idea of chain reactions was introduced by german chemist max bodenstein in 1913 in reference to chemical reactions.

Nuclear power weapons world war win. Chain reactions examples a nuclear chain reaction is a fission reaction where the neutrons generated by the fission process go on and initiate fission in other atoms. Nuclear reaction synonyms nuclear reaction pronunciation nuclear reaction translation english dictionary definition of nuclear reaction. During a nuclear reaction such as a fission or fusion reaction the mass accounted for by the nuclear binding energy is released in accordance with the equation e mc 2 energy mass times the square of the speed of light.

The nuclear chain reaction releases several million times more energy per reaction than any. Chain reaction definition a self sustaining reaction in which the fission of nuclei of one generation of nuclei produces particles that cause the fission of at least an equal number of nuclei of the succeeding generation. Nuclear chain reaction occurs when one single nuclear reaction causes an average of one or more subsequent nuclear reactions thus leading to the possibility of a self propagating series of these reactions.

A nuclear chain reaction was proposed by leo szilard in 1933 shortly after the neutron was discovered yet more than five years before nuclear fission was first discovered. Szilard knew of chemical chain reactions and he had been reading about an energy producing nuclear reaction involving high energy protons bombarding lithium demonstrated by john cockcroft and ernest walton in 1932. A nuclear reactor is a device in which nuclear reactions are generated and the chain reaction is controlled to release large amount of steady heat thereby producing energy.

To simplify the products formed in nuclear fission and nuclear fusion always have a lower mass than the reactants. Other articles where nuclear chain reaction is discussed. The best known examples in physics are nuclear fissions brought about.

Chain reaction in chemistry and physics process yielding products that initiate further processes of the same kind a self sustaining sequenceexamples from chemistry are burning a fuel gas the development of rancidity in fats knock in internal combustion engines and the polymerization of ethylene to polyethylene. The specific nuclear reaction may be the fission of heavy isotopes eg uranium 235 235 u. Nuclear chain reactions are series of nuclear fissions splitting of atomic nuclei each initiated by a neutron produced in a preceding fission.