Fission and Fusion

Question

What do you mean by Fission and Fusion?

Answer 1

Fission: It is the breaking down of a Nucleus (that is, not atom) into the smaller nuclei. This is generally induced through a neutron.

For illustration, a Helium nucleus (termed as alpha particle) is divided into two 4He(+2) --> 2H(+1) + 2H(+1)

A huge amount of energy is discharged in the process.

^Fusion: This occurs when two nuclei joins to form a big nuclei. A big amount of energy is required to start this. As it is not simple to bring two positively charged nuclei closer. Whenever they combine, a huge amount of energy is discharged.

For illustration: This generally occurs in the stars.

The energy needed to start the fusion comes from the gravitational force among the particles.