A PROJECT REPORT

ON
Nuclear Fission and Fusion
(2024-2025)

Submitted by -Shagun
Roll no.-
Under the guidance of
Ms . Saloni

Faridabad Convent School

 CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that Shagun student of class XII has successfully completed the
project report entitled “NUCLEAR FUSION AND FISSION” under the guidance
of Ms. Saloni ma’am during the year 2024-2025

________________ _______________

Teacher’s signature Examiner’s signature

 ACKNOWLEDMENT

I would like to express my deepest thanks to Ms. Saloni ma’am as well as our
principal Mr. Mukesh Sir Who had guided me through a lot of task during the
preparation of report which also helped me in doing a lot of research and I came
to know about so many New things. Secondly I would like to thank my parents
and my friends for their moral support and encouragement during the entire
work.
CONTENT

➢ History
➢ Definition of fission and Fusion
➢ Process of these system
➢ Energy comes from fission and Fusion
➢ Chain reaction
➢ Usage
➢ Review
➢ Bibliography
HISTORY

Hahn and Strassman

Meitner and Frisch

➢ In 1993 they First identified the nuclear fission.

➢ Explained Hahn and Strassman results.
➢ Instead of heavier uranium,it had to split into smaller elements = Nuclear
Fission

The fission process often produces gamma rays and releases a very large
amount of energy, even by the energetic standards of radioactive decay.
Scientists already knew about alpha decay and beta decay, but fission
assumed great importance because the discovery that a nuclear chain
reaction was possible led to the development of nuclear
power and nuclear weapons. Hahn was awarded the 1944 Nobel Prize in
Chemistry for the discovery of nuclear fission.

Hahn and Strassmann at the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for

Chemistry in Berlin bombarded uranium with slow neutrons and
discovered that barium had been produced.

Their statement was:

➢ Bombarded Uranium-235 samples with neutrons expecting the
uranium -235 to capture neutrons.
NUCLEAR FISSION

A reaction in which an atomic nucleus of a radioactive element splits by

bombardment from an external source, with simultaneous release of large
amount of energy,used for electric power generation.

In the fission process, a large quantity of energy is released, radioactive products

are formed, and several neutrons are emitted. These neutrons can induce fission
in a nearby nucleus of fissionable material and release more neutrons that can
repeat the sequence, causing a chain reaction in which a large number of nuclei
undergo fission and an enormous amount of energy is released.
If controlled in a nuclear reactor, such a chain reaction can provide power for
society’s benefit. If uncontrolled, as in the case of the so-called atomic bomb, it can
lead to an explosion of awesome destructive force
PROCESS
The nucleus of an atom is made of protons and neutrons bound together by the
nuclear strong force. The sum of the masses of those protons and neutrons,
however, will be greater than the mass of those same bound together in the
nucleus. Consider a helium atom:

Iu = 1.6606 . 10-2

Neutron mass = 1.008665u

Proton mass = 1.00728u

Electron mass = .00054858u

A helium atom has 2 protons, 2 neutrons, and 2 electrons, so its mass should be
4.032987 u. However, the mass of a Helium atom is lower than that.

Mass of particles: 4.032987 u

Mass of Helium atom: 4.002603

Difference: .030384 u

This difference is called the Mass Defect.

The mass defect can be explained using Einstein's mass/energy equation:

E=mc2

The mass that is lost when free particles join to form a nucleus is converted into
energy, specifically what is called the binding energy. The binding energy is the
amount of energy needed to break a nucleus apart into free nucleons. Energies of
subatomic particles are measured using Mega Electron Volt (MeV) units.

1MeV=1.602⋅10−13J

An atomic mass of 1 u is equal to 931.5 MeV of energy.

So, in the case of the Helium atom:

Eb=.030384u⋅931.5MeV/u≈283MeV
Different nuclei have different binding energies, but a more useful measure is
the binding energy per nucleon, which is a direct measure of atomic stability.
When an atom undergoes fission, a large nucleus will break into smaller nuclei
that have higher binding energies per nucleon. Binding energy per nucleon can
be found by dividing the binding energy by the number of particles in the nucleus.

Nuclear binding energy can be defined as the amount of energy needed to break
one mole of nuclei into individual nucleons. The larger the binding energy per
nucleon, the stronger the nucleons are held together, and the more stable the
nucleus is. Less stable atoms have lower binding energies per nucleon.

The binding energy per nucleon is a function of the mass number. Light nuclei
gain stability by undergoing nuclear fusion. Heavy nuclei gain stability by
undergoing nuclear fission.

The following figure shows the binding energy as a function of the mass number.
ENERGY RELEASED IN FISSION PROCESS

Energy is released in nuclear fission when large nuclei break apart into more
stable forms. In the case of uranium, we can see that it sits at binding energy of
about 7.8 MeV per nucleon, but when it decays, it produces elements which have
higher binding energies, as much as 8.8 MeV. In this way, we can see about 1 MeV
per nucleon is released during fusion. Since the isotopes of Uranium are all in the
range of 235, Uranium fission yields around 235 MeV per atom.

The fission energy from one gram of Uranium, then, can be calculated using
several known conversions.

Each uranium-235 atom has a mass of 3.9014×10-25kg

The total no. Of atoms in 1 kg pf uranium-235 can be found as follows:

No. Of atoms in 1 kg of uranium-235= 1/3.9014×10-25

No. Of atoms in 1 kg of yrabu-235= 2.56×1023atoms

NUCLEAR CHAIN REACTION

One of the products of a fission reaction are free neutrons. If there are other large
nuclei nearby, it is possible for the neutrons from the original fission to impact
them and cause them to undergo fission as well. From there, even more free
neutrons result, and the number of nuclei undergoing fission can increase
exponentially. This series of events is collectively called a chain reaction. When
there is enough material for the reaction to be self-sustaining, it is described as
having a critical mass.

In a chain reaction, emitted neutrons go on to split more nuclei, which emits

more neutrons
Nuclear Reactor and Power Plants

Nuclear fission can be used to generate electricity. Fission reactions generate

large amounts of energy, which can be used to heat water to steam and power a
turbine. Uranium-235 is the main source of fuel for nuclear reactors. It is fissile,
and it is naturally occurring, so it can be procured and refined for use

The first nuclear fission reaction discovered involved uranium-235. Nuclear

power plants use uranium-235 nucleus to undergo fission by hitting them with
neutrons, as shown by the model in the following diagram.

The figure represents the process of nuclear fission when a neutron strikes a
uranium-235 nucleus. Barium-141 and krypton-92 are just two of many possible
products of this fission reaction. In fact, scientists have identified more than 200
different product isotopes from fission of a uranium-235 nucleus.

The elements barium and krypton are typical results of this fission. The energy
released by each fission can be found by calculating the masses of the atoms on
each side of the equation. In the reaction we just saw, the total mass on the right
side of the equation is 0.186 amu smaller than that on the left. The energy
equivalent of this mass is 2.78x10^-11 J, or 173 MeV. This energy appears as the
kinetic energy of the products of the fission.
Nuclear Fusion
Nuclear fusion is the process by which two light atomic nuclei combine to form a
heavier nucleus, releasing a significant amount of energy. It is the process that
powers the sun and other stars.

Fusion energy is considered a potentially clean, abundant, and sustainable

source of power. Unlike nuclear fission, fusion does not produce long-lived
radioactive waste and has the potential to provide almost unlimited energy by

2H1+2H1→3He2+n1+18.015 MeV

This is the fusion of two deuterium nuclei (isotopes of hydrogen, each with one
proton and one neutron) to form a helium-3 nucleus, a neutron, and a release of
energy.
PROCESS
These reactions involve the fusion of two hydrogen atoms to form helium nuclei
with the release of huge amount of energy. At extremely high
temperature, hydrogen gas is converted into plasma having ionized mixture of
gases and negatively charged electrons separated by the positively charged
cations.

Under normal conditions of temperature and pressure, strong electrostatic forces

of repulsions tend to repel the positively charged atomic nuclei to come close to
each other for the fusion reaction. At extremely high temperature and high
pressure, the environmental conditions become favorable to overcome these
strong electrostatic forces of repulsions.

As a result of these severe environmental conditions, nuclear forces responsible

to bind the protons and neutrons in atomic nucleus are outweighted by the
electrostatic forces of repulsions, resulting in the fusion of two atomic nuclei. At
high temperature, ions moves faster than the neutral atoms and eventually fuse
the two incoming charged particles. As a result of this fusion, huge amount of heat
is released.
ENERGY FROM NUCLEAR FUSION
Fusion reactions power the Sun and other stars. In fusion, two light nuclei merge
to form a single heavier nucleus. The process releases energy because the total
mass of the resulting single nucleus is less than the mass of the two original
nuclei. The leftover mass becomes energy. Einstein’s equation (E=mc2), which
says in part that mass and energy can be converted into each other, explains why
this process occurs. If scientists develop a way to harness energy from fusion in
machines on Earth, it could be an important method of energy production.

2H1+2H1→3He2+n1

M = 3.1 ×10-29 kg

C=3× 108

E=E

E=mc2

E=3.1 × 10-29×( 3×108)2

E=2.79 ×10-12

The energy released per fusion is 2.79×10-12J

USAGE
Nuclear fusion has the potential to produce energy without greenhouse gases and
minimal nuclear waste, creating a resource that provides large amounts of energy
without adding to global warming. Also, the fuels used for fusion are relatively
easy to resource and virtually inexhaustible.

Nuclear fusion exists naturally in stars including the Sun, where hydrogen nuclei
fuse and create helium while releasing the energy that lights and heats the Earth.
Nuclear fusion has also been used in nuclear weapons, but research to harness
fusion power for electricity generation is still ongoing.

A controlled reaction in a reactor used to produce cleaner, inexpensive electricity

A fission bomb starts a fusion chain reaction to create an incredibly powerful

weapon-thermonuclear weapons (H-bombs), much more destructive than
atomic bombs.
REVIEW

Nuclear Fusion
Nuclear fusion is the process by which two light atomic nuclei combine to form
a heavier nucleus, releasing a significant amount of energy. It is the process that
powers the sun and other stars

NUCLEAR FISSION

A reaction in which an atomic nucleus of a radioactive element splits by

bombardment from an external source, with simultaneous release of large
amount of energy,used for electric power generation.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_fusion

https://study.com/learn/lesson/nuclear-fission-process-
example.html?srsltid=AfmBOoophJ2orQZcxDiHgKSmrhK2x-J-
wnA6Utv0CL8ccYEezfPXKbD0