nuclear fission

fission (def. 2).

[1885-90]

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Division of a heavy atomic nucleus into two fragments of roughly equal mass, accompanied by the release of a large amount of energy, the binding energy of the subatomic particles.

The energy released in the fission of one uranium nucleus is about 50 million times greater than that released when a carbon atom combines with oxygen atoms in the burning of coal. The energy appears as kinetic energy of the fragments, which converts to thermal energy as the fragments collide in matter and slow down. Fission also releases two or three free neutrons. The free neutrons can bombard other nuclei, leading to a series of fissions called a chain reaction. The energy released from nuclear fission is used to generate electricity, to propel ships and submarines, and is a source of the vast destructive power of nuclear weapons.

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▪ physics

Introduction

      subdivision of a heavy atomic nucleus, such as that of uranium or plutonium, into two fragments of roughly equal mass. The process is accompanied by the release of a large amount of energy.

      In nuclear fission the nucleus of an atom breaks up into two lighter nuclei. The process may take place spontaneously in some cases or may be induced by the excitation of the nucleus with a variety of particles (e.g., neutrons, protons (proton), deuterons, or alpha particles) or with electromagnetic radiation in the form of gamma rays. 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.

      The discovery of nuclear fission has opened a new era—the “Atomic Age.” The potential of nuclear fission for good or evil and the risk/benefit ratio of its applications have not only provided the basis of many sociological, political, economic, and scientific advances but grave concerns as well. Even from a purely scientific perspective, the process of nuclear fission has given rise to many puzzles and complexities, and a complete theoretical explanation is still not at hand.

History of fission research and technology

      The term fission was first used by the German physicists Lise Meitner (Meitner, Lise) and Otto Frisch (Frisch, Otto Robert) in 1939 to describe the disintegration of a heavy nucleus into two lighter nuclei of approximately equal size. The conclusion that such an unusual nuclear reaction can in fact occur was the culmination of a truly dramatic episode in the history of science, and it set in motion an extremely intense and productive period of investigation.

      The story of the discovery of nuclear fission actually began with the discovery of the neutron in 1932 by James Chadwick in England (see above). Shortly thereafter, Enrico Fermi (Fermi, Enrico) and his associates in Italy undertook an extensive investigation of the nuclear reactions produced by the bombardment of various elements with this uncharged particle. In particular, these workers observed (1934) that at least four different radioactive species resulted from the bombardment of uranium with slow neutrons. These newly discovered species emitted beta particles and were thought to be isotopes of unstable “transuranium elements” of atomic numbers (atomic number) 93, 94, and perhaps higher. There was, of course, intense interest in examining the properties of these elements, and many radiochemists participated in the studies. The results of these investigations, however, were extremely perplexing, and confusion persisted until 1939 when Otto Hahn (Hahn, Otto) and Fritz Strassmann (Strassmann, Fritz) in Germany, following a clue provided by Irène Joliot-Curie and Pavle Savić in France (1938), proved definitely that the so-called transuranic elements were in fact radioisotopes of barium, lanthanum, and other elements in the middle of the periodic table.

      That lighter elements could be formed by bombarding heavy nuclei with neutrons had been suggested earlier (notably by the German chemist Walter Noddack in 1934), but the idea was not given serious consideration because it entailed such a broad departure from the accepted views of nuclear physics and was unsupported by clear chemical evidence. Armed with the unequivocal results of Hahn and Strassmann, however, Meitner and Frisch invoked the recently formulated liquid-drop model of the nucleus (see above) to give a qualitative theoretical interpretation of the fission process and called attention to the large energy release that should accompany it. There was almost immediate confirmation of this reaction in dozens of laboratories throughout the world, and within a year more than 100 papers describing most of the important features of the process were published. These experiments confirmed the formation of extremely energetic heavy particles and extended the chemical identification of the products.

      The chemical evidence that was so vital in leading Hahn and Strassmann to the discovery of nuclear fission was obtained by the application of carrier and tracer techniques. Since invisible amounts of the radioactive species were formed, their chemical identity had to be deduced from the manner in which they followed known carrier elements, present in macroscopic quantity, through various chemical operations. Known radioactive species were also added as tracers and their behaviour was compared with that of the unknown species to aid in the identification of the latter. Over the years, these radiochemical techniques have been used to isolate and identify some 34 elements from zinc (atomic number 30) to gadolinium (atomic number 64) that are formed as fission products. The wide range of radioactivities produced in fission makes this reaction a rich source of tracers for chemical, biologic, and industrial use.

      Although the early experiments involved the fission of ordinary uranium with slow neutrons, it was rapidly established that the rare isotope uranium-235 was responsible for this phenomenon. The more abundant isotope uranium-238 could be made to undergo fission only by fast neutrons with energy exceeding 1 MeV. The nuclei of other heavy elements, such as thorium and protactinium, also were shown to be fissionable with fast neutrons; and other particles, such as fast protons, deuterons, and alphas, along with gamma rays, proved to be effective in inducing the reaction.

      In 1939, Frédéric Joliot-Curie, Hans von Halban, and Lew Kowarski found that several neutrons were emitted in the fission of uranium-235, and this discovery led to the possibility of a self-sustaining chain reaction. Fermi and his coworkers recognized the enormous potential of such a reaction if it could be controlled. On Dec. 2, 1942, they succeeded in doing so, operating the world's first nuclear reactor. Known as a “pile,” this device consisted of an array of uranium and graphite blocks and was built on the campus of the University of Chicago.

      The secret Manhattan Project, established not long after the United States entered World War II, developed the atomic bomb. Once the war had ended, efforts were made to develop new reactor types for large-scale power generation, giving birth to the nuclear power industry.

Fundamentals of the fission process

Structure and stability of nuclear matter

      The fission process may be best understood through a consideration of the structure and stability of nuclear matter. Nuclei consist of nucleons (nucleon) (neutrons and protons), the total number of which is equal to the mass number of the nucleus. The actual mass of a nucleus is always less than the sum of the masses of the free neutrons and protons that constitute it, the difference being the mass equivalent of the energy of formation of the nucleus from its constituents. The conversion of mass to energy follows Einstein's equation, E = mc², where E is the energy equivalent of a mass, m, and c is the velocity of light. This difference is known as the mass defect and is a measure of the total binding energy (and, hence, the stability) of the nucleus. This binding energy is released during the formation of a nucleus from its constituent nucleons and would have to be supplied to the nucleus to decompose it into its individual nucleon components.

  A curve illustrating the average binding energy per nucleon as a function of the nuclear mass number is shown in Figure 1—>. The largest binding energy (highest stability) occurs near mass number 56—the mass region of the element iron.Figure 1—> indicates that any nucleus heavier than mass number 56 would become a more stable system by breaking into lighter nuclei of higher binding energy with the difference in binding energy being released in the process. (It should be noted that nuclei lighter than mass number 56 can gain in stability by fusing to produce a heavier nucleus of greater mass defect—again, with the release of the energy equivalent of the mass difference. It is the fusion of the lightest nuclei that provides the energy released by the Sun and constitutes the basis of the hydrogen, or fusion, bomb. Efforts to harness fusion reaction for power production are being actively pursued. [See nuclear fusion.])

 On the basis of energy considerations alone,Figure 1—> would indicate that all matter should seek its most stable configuration, becoming nuclei of mass number near 56. However, this does not happen, because barriers to such a spontaneous conversion are provided by other factors. A good qualitative understanding of the nucleus is achieved by treating it as analogous to a uniformly charged liquid drop. The strong attractive nuclear force between pairs of nucleons is of short range and acts only between the closest neighbours. Since nucleons near the surface of the drop have fewer close neighbours than those in the interior, a surface tension is developed, and the nuclear drop assumes a spherical shape in order to minimize this surface energy. (The smallest surface area enclosing a given volume is provided by a sphere.) The protons in the nucleus exert a long-range, repulsive (Coulomb) force (Coulomb force) on each other due to their positive charge. As the number of nucleons in a nucleus increases beyond about 40, the number of protons must be diluted with an excess of neutrons to maintain relative stability.

 If the nucleus is excited by some stimulus and begins to oscillate (i.e., deform from its spherical shape), the surface forces will increase and tend to restore it to a sphere, where the surface tension is at a minimum. On the other hand, the Coulomb repulsion decreases as the drop deforms and the protons are positioned farther apart. These opposing tendencies set up a barrier in the potential energy of the system, as indicated in Figure 2—>.

 The curve in Figure 2—> rises initially with elongation, since the strong, short-range nuclear force that gives rise to the surface tension increases. The Coulomb repulsion between protons decreases faster with elongation than the surface tension increases, and the two are in balance at point B, which represents the height of the barrier to fission. (This point is called the “saddle point” because, in a three-dimensional view of the potential energy surface, the shape of the pass over the barrier resembles a saddle.) Beyond point B, the Coulomb repulsion between the protons drives the nucleus into further elongation until at some point, S (the scission point), the nucleus breaks in two. Qualitatively, at least, the fission process is thus seen to be a consequence of the Coulomb repulsion between protons. Further discussion of the potential energy in fission is provided below.

Induced fission

      The height and shape of the fission barrier are dependent on the particular nucleus being considered. Fission can be induced by exciting the nucleus to an energy equal to or greater than that of the barrier. This can be done by gamma-ray excitation (photofission) or through excitation of the nucleus by the capture of a neutron, proton, or other particle (particle-induced fission). The binding energy of a particular nucleon to a nucleus will depend on—in addition to the factors considered above—the odd–even character of the nucleus. Thus, if a neutron is added to a nucleus having an odd number of neutrons, an even number of neutrons will result, and the binding energy will be greater than for the addition of a neutron that makes the total number of neutrons odd. This “pairing energy” accounts in part for the difference in behaviour of nuclides in which fission can be induced with slow (low-energy) neutrons and those that require fast (higher-energy) neutrons. Although the heavy elements are unstable with respect to fission, the reaction takes place to an appreciable extent only if sufficient energy of activation is available to surmount the fission barrier. Most nuclei that are fissionable with slow neutrons contain an odd number of neutrons (e.g., uranium-233, uranium-235, or plutonium-239), whereas most of those requiring fast neutrons (e.g., thorium-232 or uranium-238) have an even number. The addition of a neutron in the former case liberates sufficient binding energy to induce fission. In the latter case, the binding energy is less and may be insufficient to surmount the barrier and induce fission. Additional energy must then be supplied in the form of the kinetic energy of the incident neutron. (In the case of thorium-232 or uranium-238, a neutron having about 1 MeV of kinetic energy is required.)

spontaneous fission

      The laws of quantum mechanics deal with the probability of a system such as a nucleus or atom being in any of its possible states or configurations at any given time. A fissionable system (fissile material) (uranium-238, for example) in its ground state (i.e., at its lowest excitation energy and with an elongation small enough that it is confined inside the fission barrier) has a small but finite probability of being in the energetically favoured configuration of two fission fragments. In effect, when this occurs, the system has penetrated the barrier by the process of quantum mechanical tunneling. This process is called spontaneous fission because it does not involve any outside influences. In the case of uranium-238, the process has a very low probability, requiring more than 10¹⁵ years for half of the material to be transformed (its so-called half-life) by this reaction. On the other hand, the probability for spontaneous fission increases dramatically for the heaviest nuclides known and becomes the dominant mode of decay for some—those having half-lives of only fractions of a second. In fact, spontaneous fission becomes the limiting factor that may prevent the formation of still heavier (super-heavy) nuclei.

The stages of fission

      A pictorial representation of the sequence of events in the fission of a heavy nucleus is given in Figure 3. The approximate time elapse between stages of the process is indicated at the bottom of the Figure.

The phenomenology of fission

      When a heavy nucleus undergoes fission, a variety of fragment pairs may be formed, depending on the distribution of neutrons and protons between the fragments. This leads to probability distribution of both mass and nuclear charge for the fragments. The probability of formation of a particular fragment is called its fission yield and is expressed as the percentage of fissions leading to it.

      The separated fragments experience a large Coulomb repulsion due to their nuclear charges, and they recoil from each other with kinetic energies determined by the fragment charges and the distance between the charge centres at the time of scission. Variations in these parameters lead to a distribution of kinetic energies, even for the same mass split.

      The initial velocities of the recoiling fragments are too fast for the outer (atomic) electrons of the fissioning atom to keep pace, and many of them are stripped away. Thus, the nuclear charge of the fragment is not fully neutralized by the atomic electrons, and the fission fragments fly apart as highly charged atoms. As the nucleus of the fragment adjusts from its deformed shape to a more stable configuration, the deformation energy (i.e., the energy required to deform it) is recovered and converted into internal excitation energy, and neutrons and prompt gamma rays (an energetic form of electromagnetic radiation given off nearly coincident with the fission event) may be evaporated from the moving fragment. The fast-moving, highly charged atom collides with the atoms of the medium through which it is moving, and its kinetic energy is transferred to ionization and heating of the medium as it slows down and comes to rest. The range of fission fragments in air is only a few centimetres.

      During the slowing-down process, the charged atom picks up electrons from the medium and becomes neutral by the time it stops. At this stage in the sequence of events, the atom produced is called a fission product to distinguish it from the initial fission fragment formed at scission. Since a few neutrons may have been lost in the transition from fission fragment to fission product, the two may not have the same mass number. The fission product is still not a stable species but is radioactive, and it finally reaches stability by undergoing a series of beta decays, which may vary over a time scale of fractions of a second to many years. The beta emission consists of electrons and antineutrinos, often accompanied by gamma rays and X rays.

      The distributions in mass, charge, and kinetic energy of the fragments have been found to be dependent on the fissioning species as well as on the excitation energy at which the fission act occurs. Many other aspects of fission have been observed, adding to the extensive phenomenology of the process and providing an intriguing set of problems for interpretation. These include the systematics of fission cross sections (a measure of the probability for fission to occur); the variation of the number of prompt neutrons (prompt neutron) (see below) emitted as a function of the fissioning species and the particular fragment mass split; the angular distribution of the fragments with respect to the direction of the beam of particles inducing fission; the systematics of spontaneous fission half-lives; the occurrence of spontaneous fission isomers (excited states of the nucleus); the emission of light particles (hydrogen-3, helium-3, helium-4, etc.) in small but significant numbers in some fission events; the presence of delayed neutron emitters among the fission products; the time scale on which the various stages of the process take place; and the distribution of the energy release in fission among the particles and radiations produced.

      A detailed discussion of all of these facets of fission and how the data were obtained is not possible here, but a few of them are treated to provide some insight into this field of study and a taste of its fascination.

Fission fragment mass distributions

  The distribution of the fragment masses formed in fission is one of the most striking features of the process. It is dependent on the mass of the fissioning nucleus and the excitation energy at which the fission occurs. At low excitation energy, the fission of such nuclides as uranium-235 or plutonium-239 is asymmetric—i.e., the fragments are formed in a two-humped probability (or yield) distribution favouring an unequal division in mass. This is illustrated in Figure 4—>. As will be noted, the light group of fragment masses shifts to higher mass numbers as the mass of the fissioning nucleus increases, whereas the position of the heavy group remains nearly stationary. As the excitation energy of the fission increases, the probability for a symmetric mass split increases, while that for asymmetric division decreases. Thus, the valley between the two peaks increases in probability (yield of formation), and at high excitations the mass distribution becomes single-humped, with the maximum yield at symmetry (see Figure 5—>). Radium isotopes show interesting triple-humped mass distributions, and nuclides lighter than radium show a single-humped, symmetric mass distribution. (These nuclides, however, require a relatively high activation energy to undergo fission.) For very heavy nuclei in the region of fermium-260, the mass-yield curve becomes symmetric (single-humped) even for spontaneous fission, and the kinetic energies of the fragments are unusually high. An understanding of these mass distributions has been one of the major puzzles of fission, and a complete, theoretical interpretation is still lacking, albeit much progress has been made (see below).

Fission decay chains and charge distribution

      In order to maintain stability, the neutron-to-proton (n/p) ratio in nuclei must increase with increasing proton number. The ratio remains at unity up to the element calcium, with 20 protons. It then gradually increases until it reaches a value of about 1.5 for the heaviest elements. When a heavy nucleus fissions, a few neutrons are emitted; however, this still leaves too high an n/p ratio in the fission fragments to be consistent with stability for them. They undergo radioactive decay and reach stability by successive conversions of neutrons to protons with the emission of a negative electron (called a beta particle, β^-) and an antineutrino. The mass number of the nucleus remains the same, but the nuclear charge (atomic number) increases by one, and a new element is formed for each such conversion. The successive beta decays constitute an isobaric, fission-product decay chain for each mass number. The half-lives for the decay of the radioactive species generally increase as they approach the stable isobar of the chain. (Species of the same element characterized by the same nuclear charge, Z [number of protons], but differing in their number of neutrons [and therefore in mass number A] are called isotopes (isotope). Species that have the same mass number, A, but differ in Z are known as isobars (isobar).)

      For a typical mass split in the neutron-induced fission of uranium-235, the complementary fission-product masses of 93 and 141 may be formed following the emission of two neutrons from the initial fragments. The division of charge (i.e., protons) between the fragments represents an important parameter in the fission process. Thus, for the mass numbers 93 and 141, the following isobaric fission-product decay chains would be formed (the half-lives for the beta-decay processes are indicated above the arrows):

      (The left subscript on the element symbol denotes Z, while the superscript denotes A.) The 92 protons of the uranium nucleus must be conserved, and complementary fission-product pairs, such as krypton-36 with barium-56, rubidium-37 with cesium-55, or strontium-38 with xenon-54, would be possible.

      The percentage of fissions in which a particular nuclide is formed as a primary fission product (i.e., as the direct descendant of an initial fragment following its de-excitation) is called the independent yield of that product. The total yield for any nuclide in the isobaric decay chain is the sum of its independent yield and the independent yields of all of its precursors in the chain. The total yield for the entire chain is called the cumulative yield for that mass number.

      Extensive radiochemical investigations have suggested that the most probable charge division is one that is displaced from stability about the same distance in both chains. This empirical observation is called the equal charge displacement (ECD) hypothesis, and it has been confirmed by several physical measurements. In the above example the ECD would predict the most probable charges at about rubidium-37 and cesium-55. A strong shell effect modifies the ECD expectations for fragments having 50 protons. The dispersion of the charge formation probability about the most probable charge (Z_p) is rather narrow and approximately Gaussian in shape and is nearly independent of the mass split as well as of the fissioning species. The most probable charge for an isobaric chain is a useful concept in the description of the charge dispersion, and it need not have an integral value. As the energy of fission increases, the charge division tends toward maintaining the n/p ratio in the fragments the same as that in the fissioning nucleus. This is referred to as an unchanged charge distribution.

Prompt neutrons (prompt neutron) in fission

      The average number of neutrons emitted per fission (represented by the symbol ) varies with the fissioning nucleus. It is about 2.0 for the spontaneous fission of uranium-238 and 4.0 for that of fermium-257. In the thermal-neutron induced fission of uranium-235, = 2.4. The actual number of neutrons emitted, however, varies with each fission event, depending on the mass split. Although there is still controversy regarding the number of neutrons emitted at the instant of scission, it is generally agreed that most of the neutrons are given off by the recoiling fission fragments soon after scission occurs. The number of neutrons emitted from each fragment depends on the amount of energy the fragment possesses. The energy can be in the form of internal excitation (heat) energy or stored as energy of deformation of the fragment to be released when the fragment returns to its stable equilibrium shape.

      Figure 6 shows the number of neutrons emitted per fragment as a function of the fragment mass number in the thermal neutron fission of uranium-235. The mass-yield distribution for the same isotope also is shown. This “sawtooth” neutron emission curve is typical of many fissioning systems at low excitation energy and provides another interesting phenomenon of fission. It is directly correlated with the fragment deformations at scission.

Delayed neutrons in fission

      A few of the fission products have beta-decay energies that exceed the binding energy of a neutron in the daughter nucleus. This is likely to happen when the daughter nucleus contains one or two neutrons more than a closed shell of 50 or 82 neutrons, since these “extra” neutrons are more loosely bound. The beta decay of the precursor may take place to an excited state of the daughter from which a neutron is emitted. The neutron emission is “delayed” by the beta-decay half-life of the precursor. Six such delayed neutron emitters have been identified, with half-lives varying from about 0.5 to 56 seconds. The yield of the delayed neutrons is only about 1 percent of that of the prompt neutrons, but they are very important for the control of the chain reaction in a nuclear reactor.

Energy release in fission

      The total energy release in a fission event may be calculated from the difference in the rest masses of the reactants (e.g., ²³⁵U + n) and the final stable products (e.g., ⁹³Nb + ¹⁴¹Pr + 2n). The energy equivalent of this mass difference is given by the Einstein relation, E = mc². The total energy release depends on the mass split, but a typical fission event would have the total energy release distributed approximately as follows for the major components in the thermal neutron-induced fission of uranium-235:

      (The energy release from the capture of the prompt neutrons depends on how they are finally stopped, and some will escape the core of a nuclear reactor.)

      This energy is released on a time scale of about 10^-12 second and is called the prompt energy release. It is largely converted to heat within an operating reactor and is used for power generation. Also, there is a delayed release of energy from the radioactive decay of the fission products varying in half-life from fractions of a second to many years. The shorter-lived species decay in the reactor, and their energy adds to the heat generated; however, the longer-lived species remain radioactive and pose a problem in the handling and disposition of the reactor fuel elements when they need to be replaced. The antineutrinos that accompany the beta decay of the fission products are unreactive, and their kinetic energy (about 10 MeV per fission) is not recovered. Overall, about 200 MeV of energy per fission may be recovered for power applications.

Fission theory

      Nuclear fission is a complex process that involves the rearrangement of hundreds of nucleons in a single nucleus to produce two separate nuclei. A complete theoretical understanding of this reaction would require a detailed knowledge of the forces involved in the motion of each of the nucleons through the process. Since such knowledge is still not available, it is necessary to construct simplified models of the actual system to simulate its behaviour and gain as accurate a description as possible of the steps in the process. The successes and failures of the models in accounting for the various observations of the fission process can provide new insights into the fundamental physics governing the behaviour of real nuclei, particularly at the large nuclear deformations encountered in a nucleus undergoing fission.

      The framework for understanding nuclear reactions is analogous to that for chemical reactions and involves the concept of a potential-energy surface on which the reaction occurs. The driving force for physical or chemical reactions is the tendency to lower the potential energy and increase the stability of the system. Thus, for example, a stone at the top of a hill will roll down the hill, converting its potential energy at the top to kinetic energy of motion, and will come to rest at the bottom in a more stable state of lower potential energy. The potential energy is calculated as a function of various parameters of the system being studied. In the case of fission, the potential energy may be calculated as a function of the shape of the system as it proceeds over the barrier to the scission point, and the path of lowest potential energy may be determined.

      As has been pointed out, an exact calculation of the nuclear potential energy is not yet possible, and it is to approximate this calculation that various models have been constructed to simulate the real system. Some of the models were developed to address aspects of nuclear structure and spectroscopy as well as features of nuclear reactions, and they also have been employed in attempts to understand the complexity of nuclear fission. The models are based on different assumptions and approximations of the nature of the nuclear forces and the dynamics of the path to scission. No one model can account for all of the extensive phenomenology of fission, but each addresses different aspects of the process and provides a foundation for further development toward a complete theory.

Nuclear models (nuclear model) and nuclear fission

      The nucleus exhibits some properties that reflect the collective motion of all its constituent nucleons as a unit, as well as other properties that are dependent on the motion and state of the individual nucleons.

      The analogy of the nucleus to a drop of an incompressible liquid was first suggested by George Gamow in 1935 and later adapted to a description of nuclear reactions (by Niels Bohr (Bohr, Niels) [1936]; and Bohr and Fritz Kalckar [1937]) and to fission (Bohr and John A. Wheeler (Wheeler, John Archibald) [1939]; and Yakov Frenkel [1939]). Bohr proposed the so-called compound nucleus description of nuclear reactions, in which the excitation energy of the system formed by the absorption of a neutron or photon, for example, is distributed among a large number of degrees of freedom of the system. This excited state persists for a long time relative to the periods of motion of nucleons across the nucleus and then decays by emission of radiation, the evaporation of neutrons or other particles, or by fission. The liquid-drop model of the nucleus accounts quite well for the general collective behaviour of nuclei and provides an understanding of the fission process on the basis of the competition between the cohesive nuclear force and the disruptive Coulomb repulsion between protons. It predicts, however, a symmetric division of mass in fission, whereas an asymmetric mass division is observed. Moreover, it does not provide an accurate description of fission barrier systematics or of the ground-state masses of nuclei. The liquid-drop model is particularly useful in describing the behaviour of highly excited nuclei, but it does not provide an accurate description for nuclei in their ground or low-lying excited states. Many versions of the liquid-drop model employing improved sets of parameters have been developed. However, investigators have found that mass asymmetry and certain other features in fission cannot be adequately described on the basis of the collective behaviour posited by such models alone.

      A preference for the formation of unequal masses (i.e., an asymmetric division) was observed early in fission research, and it has remained the most puzzling feature of the process to account for. Investigators have invoked various models other than that of the liquid drop in an attempt to address this question. Dealing with the mutual interaction of all the nucleons in a nucleus has been simplified by treating it as if it were equivalent to the interaction of one particle with an average, spherical static potential field that is generated by all the other nucleons. The methods of quantum mechanics provide the solution for the motion of a nucleon in such a potential. A characteristic set of energy levels for neutrons and protons is obtained, and, analogous to the set of levels of the electrons in an atom, the levels group themselves into shells (shell atomic model) at certain so-called magic numbers of nucleons. (For both neutrons and protons, these numbers are 2, 8, 20, 28, 50, 82, and 126.) Shell closures at these nuclear numbers are marked by especially strong binding, or extra stability. This constitutes the essence of the spherical-shell model (sometimes called the independent-particle, or single-particle, model), as developed by Maria Goeppert Mayer (Mayer, Maria Goeppert) and J. Hans D. Jensen (Jensen, J. Hans D.) and their colleagues (1949). It accounts well for ground-state masses and spins, and for the existence of isomeric nuclear states (excited states having measurable half-lives) that occur when nuclear levels of widely differing spins lie relatively close to each other. The agreement with observations is excellent for spherical nuclei with nucleon numbers near the magic shell numbers. The spherical-shell model, however, does not agree well with the properties of nuclei that have other nucleon numbers—e.g., the nuclei of the lanthanide and actinide elements, with nucleon numbers between the magic numbers.

      In the lanthanide and actinide nuclei, the ground state is not spherical but rather deformed into a prolate spheroidal shape—that of a football or watermelon. For such nuclei, the allowed states of motion of a nucleon must be calculated in a potential having a symmetry corresponding to a spheroid rather than a sphere. This was first done by Aage Bohr, Ben R. Mottelson, and Sven G. Nilsson in 1955, and the level structure was calculated as a function of the deformation of the nucleus. A spheroid has three axes of symmetry, and it can rotate in space as a unit about any one of them. The rotation can occur independent of the internal state of excitation of the individual nucleons. Various modes of vibration of the spheroid also may take place. Since this deformed shell model has components of both the independent-particle motion and the collective motion of the nucleus as a whole (i.e., rotations and vibrations), it is sometimes referred to as the unified model (collective model).

      In Aage Bohr's application of the unified model to the fission process, the sequence of potential-energy surfaces for the excited states of the system are considered to be functions of a deformation parameter (i.e., elongation) characterizing the motion toward fission and evaluated at the saddle point. As the system passes over the saddle point, most of its excitation energy is used up in deforming the nucleus, and the system remains “cold”—i.e., it manifests little excitation, or heat, energy. Thus, only the low-lying excited states are available to the system. The spin and parity of the particular state (or channel) in which the system exists as it passes over the saddle point are then expected to determine the fission properties. In this channel (or transition-state) analysis of fission, a number of characteristics of the process are qualitatively accounted for. Hence, fission thresholds would depend on the spin and parity of the compound nuclear state, the fission fragment angular distribution would be governed by the collective rotational angular momentum of the state, and asymmetry in the mass distribution would result from passage over the barrier in a state of negative parity (which does not possess reflection symmetry). This model gives a good qualitative interpretation of many fission phenomena, but it must assume that at least some of the properties of the transition state at the saddle point are not altered by dynamical considerations in the descent of the system to the scission point. It is the only model that provides a satisfactory interpretation of the angular distributions of fission fragments, and it has attractive features that must be included in any complete theory of fission.

 The first application of the spherical-shell model to fission was the recognition that the positions of the peaks in the fission mass distribution correlated fairly well with the magic numbers and suggested a qualitative interpretation of the asymmetric mass division. Thus, a preference for the formation of nuclei with neutron numbers close to 82 would favour the formation of nuclides near the peak in the heavy group and would thus determine the mass split for the fissioning system (see Figure 4—>). Some extra stability for nuclear configurations of 50 protons would also be expected, but this is not particularly evident. In fact, the so-called doubly magic nucleus tin-132, with 50 protons and 82 neutrons, has a rather low yield in low-energy fission.

      A more quantitative application of the spherical-shell model to fission was undertaken by Peter Fong in the United States in 1956. He related the probability of formation of a given pair of fragments to the available density of states for that pair of fragments at the scission point in a statistical-model approach. A model of this sort predicts that the system, in its random motions, will experience all possible configurations and so will have a greater probability of being in the region where the greatest number of such configurations (or states) is concentrated. The model assumes that the potential energy at the saddle point is essentially all converted to excitation energy and that a statistical equilibrium among all possible states is established at the scission point. The extra binding energy for closed-shell nuclei leads to a higher density of states at a given excitation energy than is present for other nuclei and, hence, leads to a higher probability of formation. An asymmetric mass distribution in good agreement with that observed for the neutron-induced fission of uranium-235 is obtained. Moreover, the changes in the mass distribution with an increased excitation energy of fission (e.g., an increase in the probability of symmetric fission relative to asymmetric fission) are accounted for by the decrease in importance of the shell effects as the excitation energy increases. Other features of the fission process also are qualitatively explained; however, extensive changes in the parameters of the model are required to obtain agreement with experiments for other fissionable nuclides. Then, too, there are fundamental problems concerning the validity of some of the basic assumptions of the model.

      The fundamental question as to the validity of models that evaluate the properties of the system at the scission point (the so-called scission-point models of fission) is whether the system remains long enough at this point on the steep decline of the potential-energy surface for a quasi-equilibrium condition to be established. There is some evidence that such a condition may indeed prevail, but it is not clearly established. Nonetheless, such models have proved quite useful in interpreting observations of mass, charge, and kinetic energy distributions, as well as of neutron emission dependence on fragment mass. It seems very likely that the fragment shell structure plays a significant role in determining the course of the fission process.

 Although the single-particle models provide a good description of various aspects of nuclear structure, they are not successful in accounting for the energy of deformation of nuclei (i.e., surface energy), particularly at the large deformations encountered in the fission process. A major breakthrough occurred when a hybrid model incorporating shell effects as a correction to the potential energy of the liquid-drop model was proposed by the Russian physicist V.M. Strutinskii in 1967. This approach retains the dominant collective surface and Coulomb effects while adding shell and pairing corrections that depend on deformation. Shell corrections of several million electron volts are calculated, and these can have a significant effect on a liquid-drop barrier of about 5 MeV. The nucleon numbers at which the shells appear depend on the deformation and may differ from the spherical model magic numbers. In the vicinity of the fission barrier, the shells introduce structure in the liquid-drop potential-energy curve, as illustrated in Figure 7—>. The relative heights and widths of the two peaks vary with the mass and charge of the fissioning system.

 The double-humped barrier (Figure 7—>) provides a satisfactory explanation for a number of puzzling observations in fission. The existence of short-lived, spontaneous fission isomers, for example, is understood as the consequence of the population of states in the second well (class II). These isomers have a much smaller barrier to penetrate and so exhibit a much shorter spontaneous fission half-life. The change in shape associated with these states, as compared to class I states, also hinders a rapid return to the ground state by gamma emission. (Class II states are also called shape isomers.) The systematics of neutron-induced fission cross sections and structure in some fission-fragment angular distributions also find an interpretation in the implications of the double-humped barrier.

      The Strutinskii procedure provided a strong stimulus for calculations of the potential-energy surfaces appropriate to fissioning systems, since it provided a consistent and useful prescription for treating both the macroscopic (liquid-drop) and microscopic (single-particle) effects in deformed nuclei. Many calculations of the potential-energy surface employing different model potentials and parameters have been carried out as functions of the shapes of the system. The work of the American nuclear physicists W.J. Swiatecki, James R. Nix, and their collaborators has been particularly noteworthy in such studies, which also include some attempts to treat the dynamical evolution of the fission process.

 Calculations for the actinide elements indicate that, at deformations corresponding to the second barrier (Figure 7—>), the potential energy for asymmetric mass splits is lower than that for symmetric ones; hence, the former are favoured at that stage of the process. For larger deformations, however, a single potential does not represent the incipient formation of two fragments very well. In fact, a discontinuity occurs at the scission point, and the results of the calculation depend on whether the scission configuration is treated as one nucleus or as two separate nuclei.

      A two-centre potential may also be used to represent the nature of the forces at work in a fissioning nucleus. In such a model, the potential energy surfaces are represented by two overlapping spheres or spheroids. It is equivalent to a one-centre potential when there is a complete overlap at small deformations, and it has the correct asymptotic behaviour as the nascent fragments separate. This approach indicates a preformation of the final shell structure of the fragments early in the process.

      Although the validity of the assumptions inherent in scission-point models may be in question, the results obtained with them are in excellent agreement with observation. Representative of such a model is the Argonne Scission-Point model, which uses a macroscopic-microscopic calculation with deformed fragment shell and pairing corrections to determine the potential energy of a system of two nearly touching spheroids and which includes their interaction in terms of a neck connecting them. Models of this kind provide a simple approach to a highly quantitative and detailed study of the dependence of the probability of formation of a given fragment pair on the neutron and proton number and on the deformation in each fragment. They account very well for the mass, charge, and kinetic-energy distributions and the neutron-emission dependence on mass number for a broad range of fissioning nuclei. The scission-point models, however, do not address questions of fission probability or the angular distributions of the fragments. As the fission-excitation energy increases, the shell correction diminishes and the macroscopic (liquid-drop) behaviour dominates.

      Nuclides in the region of fermium-264 have been observed to undergo symmetric fission with unusually high fragment kinetic energies. This appears to be the consequence of the stability for the magic number configurations of 50 protons and 82 neutrons. The formation of two doubly magic fragments of tin-132 is strongly favoured energetically, whereas the formation of only one such fragment in the low-energy fission of uranium or plutonium isotopes is not. The fragments of tin-132 are spherical rather than deformed, and a more compact configuration at the scission point (with the charge centres closer together) leads to higher fragment kinetic energies.

      It is evident that shell effects, both in the fissioning system at the saddle point and in the deformed fragments near the scission point, are important in interpreting many of the features of the fission process. The stage of the process at which the various fragment distributions are determined is, however, not clearly established. All the components of a reasonable understanding of fission seem to be at hand, but they have yet to be synthesized into a complete, dynamic theory.

      Considerations of the dynamics of the descent of the system on the potential-energy surface from the saddle point to the scission point involve two extreme points of view. An “adiabatic” approximation may be valid if the collective motion of the system is considered to be so slow or the coupling between the collective and internal single-particle degrees of freedom (i.e., between macroscopic and microscopic behaviour) so weak that the fast single-particle motions can readily adjust to the changes in shape of the fissioning nucleus as it progresses toward scission. In this case, the changes in the system take place without the gain or loss of heat energy. The decrease in potential energy between the saddle and scission points will then appear primarily in the collective degrees of freedom at scission and be associated with the kinetic energy of the relative motion of the nascent fragments (referred to as pre-scission kinetic energy). On the other hand, if the collective motion toward scission is relatively fast or the coupling-to-particle motion stronger, collective energy can be transformed into internal excitation (heat) energy of the nucleons. (This is analogous to heating in the motion of a viscous fluid.) In such a “non-adiabatic” process the mixing among the single-particle degrees of freedom may be sufficiently complete that a statistical model may be applicable at the scission point. Either extreme represents an approximation of complex behaviour, and some experimental evidence in support of either interpretation may be advanced. As in most such instances in nature, the truth probably lies somewhere between the extremes, with both playing some role in the fission process.

Fission chain reactions and their control

      The emission of several neutrons in the fission process leads to the possibility of a chain reaction if at least one of the fission neutrons induces fission in another fissile nucleus, which in turn fissions and emits neutrons to continue the chain. If more than one neutron is effective in inducing fission in other nuclei, the chain multiplies more rapidly. The condition for a chain reaction is usually expressed in terms of a multiplication factor, k, which is defined as the ratio of the number of fissions produced in one step (or neutron generation) in the chain to the number of fissions in the preceding generation. If k is less than unity, a chain reaction cannot be sustained. If k = 1, a steady-state chain reaction can be maintained; and if k is greater than 1, the number of fissions increases at each step, resulting in a divergent chain reaction. The term critical assembly is applied to a configuration of fissionable material for which k = 1; if k > 1, the assembly is said to be supercritical. A critical assembly might consist of the fissile material in the form of a metal or oxide, a moderator to slow the fission neutrons, and a reflector to scatter neutrons that would otherwise be lost back into the assembly core.

      In a fission bomb it is desirable to have k as large as possible and the time between steps in the chain as short as possible so that many fissions occur and a large amount of energy is generated within a brief period (∼10^-7 second) to produce a devastating explosion. If one kilogram of uranium-235 were to fission, the energy released would be equivalent to the explosion of 20,000 tons of the chemical explosive trinitrotoluene (TNT). In a controlled nuclear reactor, k is kept equal to unity for steady-state operation. A practical reactor, however, must be designed with k somewhat greater than unity. This permits power levels to be increased if desired, as well as allowing for the following: the gradual loss of fuel by the fission process; the buildup of “poisons” among the fission products being formed that absorb neutrons and lower the k value; and the use of some of the neutrons produced for research studies or the preparation of radioactive species for various applications (see below). The value of k is controlled during the operation of a reactor by the positioning of movable rods made of a material that readily absorbs neutrons (i.e., one with a high neutron-capture cross section), such as boron, cadmium, or hafnium. The delayed-neutron emitters among the fission products increase the time between successive neutron generations in the chain reaction and make the control of the reaction easier to accomplish by the mechanical movement of the control rods.

      Fission reactors can be classified by the energy of the neutrons that propagate the chain reaction. The most common type, called a thermal reactor, operates with thermal neutrons (those having the same energy distribution as gas molecules at ordinary room temperatures). In such a reactor the fission neutrons produced (with an average kinetic energy of more than 1 MeV) must be slowed down to thermal energy by scattering from a moderator, usually consisting of ordinary water, heavy water (D₂O), or graphite. In another type termed an intermediate reactor the chain reaction is maintained by neutrons of intermediate energy, and a beryllium moderator may be used. In a fast reactor fast fission neutrons maintain the chain reaction, and no moderator is needed. All of the reactor types require a coolant to remove the heat generated; water, a gas, or a liquid metal may be used for this purpose, depending on the design needs. For details about reactor types, see nuclear reactor: Nuclear fission reactors (nuclear reactor).

Uses of fission reactors and fission products

      A nuclear reactor is essentially a furnace used to produce steam or hot gases that can provide heat directly or drive turbines to generate electricity. Nuclear reactors are employed for commercial electric-power generation throughout much of the world and as a power source for propelling submarines and certain kinds of surface vessels. Another important use for reactors is the utilization of their high neutron fluxes for studying the structure and properties of materials and for producing a broad range of radionuclides, which, along with a number of fission products, have found many different applications. Heat generated by radioactive decay can be converted into electricity through the thermoelectric effect in semiconductor materials and thereby produce what is termed an atomic battery. When powered by either a long-lived, beta-emitting fission product (e.g., strontium-90, calcium-144, or promethium-147) or one that emits alpha particles (plutonium-238 or curium-244), these batteries are a particularly useful source of energy for cardiac pacemakers and for instruments employed in remote, unmanned facilities, such as those in outer space, the polar regions of the Earth, or the open seas. There are many practical uses for other radionuclides, as discussed in radioactivity: Applications of radioactivity (radioactivity).

Ellis P. Steinberg

Additional Reading

Louis A. Turner, “Nuclear Fission,” Reviews of Modern Physics, 12(1):1–29 (January 1940), an excellent review of the early studies on nuclear fission; Henry DeWolf Smyth, Atomic Energy for Military Purposes: The Official Report on the Development of the Atomic Bomb Under the Auspices of the United States Government, 1940–1945, new and enlarged ed. (1948, reprinted 1978); and Samuel Glasstone, Sourcebook on Atomic Energy, 3rd ed. (1967, reprinted 1979), a comprehensive text on the atom and nuclear energy. For a detailed, authoritative treatment of all aspects of nuclear fission, see Earl K. Hyde, Isadore Perlman, and Glenn T. Seaborg, The Nuclear Properties of the Heavy Elements, vol. 3, Fission Phenomena (1964, reissued 1971); and Robert Vandenbosch and John R. Huizenga, Nuclear Fission (1973). Also useful are Wolf-Udo Schröder (ed.), Nuclear Fission and Heavy-Ion-Induced Reactions (1987), papers from a conference; and a multivolume proceedings series published by the International Atomic Energy Agency, “Physics and Chemistry of Fission.” For more popular accounts of nuclear energy and its uses, see Grace Marmor Spruch and Larry Spruch (eds.), The Ubiquitous Atom (1974); and Martin Mann, Peacetime Uses of Atomic Energy, 3rd rev. ed. (1975), a brief description of nuclear reactors and the uses of radioisotopes in industry, medicine, and scientific research. The story of the atomic bomb is told in William L. Laurence, Men and Atoms: The Discovery, the Uses, and the Future of Atomic Energy (1959, reissued 1962); James W. Kunetka, City of Fire: Los Alamos and the Atomic Age, 1943–1945, rev. ed. (1978); and Richard Rhodes, The Making of the Atomic Bomb (1986).Ellis P. Steinberg

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