“Atomic fission” is when a nucleus gets hit by a neutron and splits in half, releasing...

“Atomic fission” is when a nucleus gets hit by a neutron and splits in half, releasing a great deal of energy. It is the basic principle behind nuclear reactors and nuclear weapons. The “Fat Man” atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki in 1945 had a plutonium core of 6.4 kg of the isotope Pu-239. (Note that “239” is the molar mass.) When the bomb exploded, it released an amount of energy equivalent to 21 kilotons of TNT.

Although the bomb needed 6.4 kg of plutonium to function at all, only a portion of those plutonium atoms actually fissioned. Calculate how many kilograms of Pu-239 actually underwent fission when the bomb exploded.

You will need some conversion factors to do this problem:

The energy from the explosion of 1 kiloton of TNT is equal to 4.2 x 10¹²J.

The fission of a single atom of Pu-239 releases 210 MeV (mega electron volts) of energy.

1 MeV = 1.602 x 10^-13 J

Solutions

Expert Solution

queen_honey_blossom answered 9 months ago

Next > < Previous

Related Solutions

In a single neutron induced fission of a 23592U nucleus, one of the fission products is...

In a single neutron induced fission of a 23592U nucleus, one of the fission products is 9942Mo. The second fission product is not identified, but it is known that it has a binding energy of 1083.7 MeV. 3 neutrons are released. Use the following data: mn=1.008665 u, mp=1.007276 u, mU−235=235.0439 u, mMo−99=98.9077 u i) What is the mass of the second fission product? ii) What is the amount of energy released in this fission reaction? please make your writing clear...

On neutron-capture induced fission, 235 92U typically splits into two new “fission product” 92 nuclei with...

On neutron-capture induced fission, 235 92U typically splits into two new “fission product” 92 nuclei with masses in the ratio 1:1.4. These are born with the same proton to neutron ratio as the original uranium, so they have too many neutrons to be stable at their mass number and are highly radioactive. Energy is released in two stages: first an intermediate or prompt release leading to radioactive fission products in their ground state; and then a much slower release via...

When a nucleus of 235U undergoes fission, it breaks into two smaller, more tightly bound fragments....

When a nucleus of 235U undergoes fission, it breaks into two smaller, more tightly bound fragments. You may want to review (Pages 979 - 980) . Part A Calculate the binding energy per nucleon for 235U. Express your answer to three significant figures and include the appropriate units. Part B Calculate the binding energy per nucleon for the fission product 137Cs.

when firing a proton (for example) to an atomic nucleus, from a distance D, the deflection...

when firing a proton (for example) to an atomic nucleus, from a distance D, the deflection angle of the proton ? to the type of changes atomic nuclei? or always constant?

1a Describe how thermal energy is obtained by fission, specifically when a U=235 atom is hit...

1a Describe how thermal energy is obtained by fission, specifically when a U=235 atom is hit by a slow-motion neutron (less than 0.9 MeV). When one states that 200 MeV of energy are released by a fission event, what is the form of this energy? 1b. The energy released by fission is by the change in mass and Einstein’s equation (E=Δmc2). If the mass of one uranium 235 atom is 235.042924 amu and the mass of fission products is 234.92754...

Subjects