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How To Split An Atom

The document discusses different methods for splitting atoms through nuclear fission. It explains that certain isotopes, such as uranium-235, can readily undergo nuclear fission when bombarded with neutrons. There are three main methods discussed: firing one atomic nucleus at another to force neutron release; squeezing atomic samples together to increase chances of neutron interaction; and exciting electrons with powerful lasers to induce gamma radiation and neutron release. The document provides historical examples of the gun and implosion methods used in the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

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0% found this document useful (0 votes)

106 views3 pages

How To Split An Atom

Uploaded by

AlbertusAldo

We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.

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3/28/2015

HowtoSplitanAtom:6Steps(withPictures)wikiHow

HowtoSplitanAtom
TwoParts:

BasicAtomSplitting

AtomSplittingMethods

Atomscangainorloseenergywhenanelectrontransitsfromahighertoa
lowerorbitaroundthenucleus.Splittingthenucleusofanatom,however,
releasesconsiderablymoreenergythanthatofanelectronreturningtoa
lowerorbitfromahigherone,energythatcanbeputtodestructiveuseor
peacefulandproductivepurposes.Splittinganatomiscallednuclearfission,a
processthatwasdiscoveredin1938therepeatedsplittingofatomsinfission
iscalledachainreaction.[1]Whilemostpeopledonothavetheequipmentto
dothis,ifyou'veeverbeencurioushowit'sdone,here'sanoverview.

Part1of2:BasicAtomSplitting

Choosetherightisotope.Someelementsorisotopesofelementsundergo
radioactivedecay.Notallisotopesarecreatedequalwhenitcomestobeing

readilysplit,however.Themostcommonisotopeofuraniumhasanatomicweightof
238,consistingof92protonsand146neutrons,butitsnucleitendtoabsorbneutrons
withoutbeingsplitintosmallernucleiofotherelements.Anisotopeofuraniumwiththree
fewerneutrons,235U,canmuchmorereadilybesplitapartthancan238Usuchan
isotopeiscalledfissile.
Someisotopescanbesplittooreadily,sofastthatacontinuousfissionreaction
cantbemaintained.Thisiscalledspontaneousfissiontheplutoniumisotope
240Puissuchanisotope,unliketheisotope239Puwithitsslowerfissionrate.

Getenoughoftheisotopetoensurefissionwillcontinueafterthefirstatom
issplit.Thisrequireshavingacertainminimumamountofthefissileisotopeto

makethefissionreactionsustainablethisiscalledcriticalmass.Achievingcriticalmass
requiresenoughofsourcematerialfortheisotopetoincreasethechancesoffission
occurring.
Sometimes,itisnecessarytoincreasetherelativeamountoffissileisotopeina
sampletoensureasustainablefissionreactionoccurs.Thisiscalled
enrichment,andtherehavebeenseveralmethodsemployedtoenricha
sample.(Forthemethodsusedtoenrichuranium,seetherelatedwikiHow
HowtoEnrichUranium.)

Bombardthenucleiofthefissileisotopewithsubatomicparticles.Asingle
subatomicparticlecanstrikeanatomof235U,splittingitintotwoseparateatomsof

otherelementsandreleasingthreeneutrons.Threetypesofsubatomicparticlesare
commonlyused.
Protons.Thesesubatomicparticleshavemassandapositivecharge.The
numberofprotonsinanatomdetermineswhatelementtheatomis.
Neutrons.Thesesubatomicparticleshavethemassasprotonsbutnocharge.
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Alphaparticles.Theseparticlesarethenucleiofheliumatoms,shornoftheir
orbitingelectrons.Theyconsistoftwoprotonsandtwoneutrons.

Part2of2:AtomSplittingMethods

Fireoneatomicnucleusofthesameisotopeatanother.Becauseloose
subatomicparticlesaredifficulttocomeby,itsoftennecessarytoforcethemout

oftheatomstheyrepartof.Onemethodofdoingthisisfiringatomsofagivenisotope
againstotheratomsofthatsameisotope.
Thismethodwasusedtocreatethe235UatomicbombdroppedonHiroshima.
Agunlikeweaponwithauraniumcorefired235Uatomsatanotherpieceof
235Ubearingmaterialfastenoughtohavetheneutronstheyreleasednaturally

slamintothenucleiofother235Uatomsandbreakthemapart.Theneutrons
releasedwhentheatomssplitwould,inturn,strikeandsplitother235Uatoms.
[2]

Squeezetheatomicsampletight,bringingfissileatomsclosertogether.
Sometimes,atomsdecaytoofastontheirowntobefiredatoneanother.Inthis

case,bringingtheatomsclosertogetherincreasesthechanceofreleasedsubatomic
particlesstrikingandsplittingotheratoms.
Thismethodwasusedtocreatethe239PuatomicbombdroppedonNagasaki.
Conventionalexplosivesringedamassofplutoniumwhendetonated,they
pushedtheplutoniummasstogether,bringingthe239Puatomscloseenough
togetherthattheneutronstheyreleasedwouldcontinuouslystrikeandsplit
other239Puatoms.[3]

Exciteelectronswithlaserlight.Withthedevelopmentofpetawatt(1015watt)
lasers,itisnowpossibletosplitatomsbyusinglaserlighttoexciteelectronsin

metalsencasingaradioactivesubstance.
Ina2000testattheLawrenceLivermoreLaboratoryinCalifornia,uraniumwas
encasedingoldandheldinacopperholder.A260joulepulseofinfraredlaser
lightstruckthecaseandholder,excitingtheirelectrons.Whentheelectrons
returnedtotheirregularorbits,theyreleasedhighenergygammaradiationthat
penetratedthegoldandcoppernuclei,liberatingneutronsthattoreintothe
atomsoftheuraniumunderneaththegold,splittingthem.(Boththegoldand
copperbecameradioactiveasaresultoftheexperiment.)
AsimilartestwasperformedattheRutherfordAppletonLaboratoryinGreat
Britain,usinga50terawatt(5x1012watt)lasertargetingatantalumslabwith
variousmaterialsputbehindit:potassium,silver,zinc,anduranium.All
successfullyhadaportionoftheiratomssplit.[4]

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Warnings
Inadditiontocertainisotopesfissiontoosoon,itispossiblefora
smallerexplosiontoblowthefissionmaterialapartbeforeitreaches
thedesiredlevelofsustainedreaction.[5]
Aswithanyequipment,followtherequiredsafetyprocedures,and
don'tdoanythingthatseemsrisky.Besafe.

SourcesandCitations
1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chain_reaction
2. http://www.atomicheritage.org/history/sciencebehindatombomb
3. http://www.atomicheritage.org/history/sciencebehindatombomb
4. http://physics.aps.org/story/v5/st3
5. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_chain_reaction

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