During World War II, humanity was faced with a weapon that shocked the world. The destruction of the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, in 1945, showed the world the great destructive power of nuclear fission.
Nuclear fission is the process in which the nucleus of a radioactive element is “bombarded” with a neutron. This collision results in the creation of an isotope of the atom, totally unstable, which breaks apart forming two new elements and releasing large amounts of energy.
Nuclear fusion occurs when two or more nuclei of the same element fuse and form another element, releasing energy. An example of nuclear fusion is what happens inside stars when four hydrogen nuclei fuse to form a helium atom. This process releases a much greater amount of energy than that released in the process of nuclear fission.
In 1952, the H bomb (hydrogen bomb) was created, which had hydrogen fusion as a nuclear reactor. This incredible weapon of destruction generated, in its first experiment, an energy about a thousand times greater than the A-bomb (atomic bomb) of nuclear fission.
Don’t stop now… There’s more after the publicity 😉
The main difference between the reactor of an atomic bomb and the reactor of a nuclear power plant, is that in the latter the fission reaction is controlled, and it always happens in sufficient quantities to heat the water, which will evaporate and turn the plant’s turbines. In the atomic bomb this reaction is not controlled.
Currently, the production of nuclear energy has been aimed at obtaining electricity, called thermonuclear power plants. This name is due to the heating of the neutrons, used for the fission of the nucleus of atoms such as uranium (235U), which generates a high degree of agitation, making the neutron an excellent projectile for breaking the nucleus.
By Kleber Cavalcante
Graduated in Physics