ipl-logo

How Atoms Have To Look At The Structure Of An Atom

1181 Words5 Pages

In the early years of thinking, Creek philosophers thought atoms were the building blocks of matter. Everything was built by atoms: people, trees, water and air. Atoms were viewed as eternal and indivisible. This idea was changed by Henri Becquerel, a French physicist, discovered some photographic plates had been exposed by particles coming from a piece of uranium. After this discovery, the Curies discovered that certain elements radiate particles. These particles would change into other elements. A new phenomenon was discovered-radioactivity. To understand how atoms change, we have to look at the structure of an atom; namely, the nucleus of the atom. The atomic nucleus cannot be seen by the naked eye. It is …show more content…

It had the potential to be used for explosions and power production. This was nuclear fission, or in simpler terms, the splitting of the atom. Nuclear fission is a balancing act between the attraction of strong forces and the pushing away of electrical forces inside the nucleus. Nuclear fusion involves joining two small nuclei together to produce a larger nucleus. Therefore, nuclear fusion and nuclear fission produce vastly more energy than any chemical or nuclear reaction. This technology and knowledge of atoms would usher in the bombs that fell on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan to end World War II; namely the “nuclear …show more content…

When a neutron is absorbed by a U-238 there are no fission results. The nucleus that was created, U-239, emits a beta particle and then becomes an isotope of neptunium. This isotope (Np-239) emits a beta particle and later becomes plutonium. This isotope (Pu-239) undergoes fission when it captures a neutron. The half-life of neptunium-239 compared to plutonium-239 is relatively small (2.4 days to 24,000 years). Plutonium, like lead and arsenic, is a poison; it attacks the nervous system and can cause paralysis. Plutonium, either airborne or liquid, is radioactively toxic. Plutonium is even more toxic than uranium, but less so than radium. The greatest danger plutonium presents us is its capability for nuclear fission bombs. However, its best use is in breeder

Show More
Related
1130 Words | 5 Pages

Ella Bradford March 29th 2024 Independent Novel Study — Response #3 Birdie, Tracey Lindberg (all chapters). Write about a connection you made with the story. Something you’ve read that you have experienced or relate to.

Read More
1139 Words | 5 Pages

These free neutrons were introduced by creating a neutron generator. The generator is a small pellet consisting of beryllium and polonium separated by foil within the fissionable fuel core. Neutron Generator- 1. The foil is broken once the subcritical masses come together and polonium spontaneously emits alpha particles (ionizing radiation ejected by the nuclei of some unstable atoms) 2. These alpha particles clash then interact with the beryllium-9 producing beryllium-8 and free neutrons are released.

Read More
732 Words | 3 Pages

As many countries joined WWII, many of them were finding new ways to protect themselves. Thus the atomic bomb was born. The Germans found a way to split a uranium atom that created a huge explosion thanks to famous scientist, Albert Einstein. It wasn't long before the U.S. heard of this and started doing the same thing. In 1941, America hired a German physicist ad created a secret project called The Manhattan Project.

Read More
539 Words | 3 Pages

President Lyndon Baines Johnson did many things and created many labels for himself in his lifetime. Johnson took the label as President after President Kennidy was assassinated (“Lyndon B. Johnson.”). I found this relevant because I could imagine Johnson was overwhelmed. Imagine getting a super big promotion with basically no warning. He was the youngest majority leader in history (“Lyndon B. Johnson.”).

Read More
1739 Words | 7 Pages

No other technological innovation has disrupted the natural world more than the atomic bomb. The atomic bomb is the greatest explosion of energy to ever have been created by man. The explosion of an atomic bomb is created through multiple nuclear chain reactions with either uranium or plutonium. The two instances in which the atomic bomb has ever been used in an act of violence was during the attacks on Japan during World War II. The war in the Pacific theater was from December 1941 through August 1945, between Japanese soldiers and American forces.

Read More
998 Words | 4 Pages

In more recent times, the presence and capabilities of creating atomic weapons is a constant problems. Between the nuclear capabilities of the Middle East and the testing of atomic weapons in North Korea, there is a constant threat. With that threat, some of the greatest arguments of a lifetime have been brought to light. There are definite positive and negative aspects of the atomic bomb. It could save thousands of lives, while only hitting high priority targets.

Read More
329 Words | 2 Pages

Many negative and impacts come with having a nuclear power plant. These impacts and dangers include nuclear radiation accidents, radioactive waste, requires high cost to the government, leads to the death of aquatic life, severe impact and effects on humans, not a renewable energy source, has a high national risk and fuel available to use at the nuclear

Read More
860 Words | 4 Pages

It changed the planet’s mindset, and the possibilities of science by coming up with the ideas of the bomb, experimenting and discovering ways to do it, and completing the task. It all started with the discovery of a new type of nuclear bomb, which if created correctly, could react and behave the way a bomb was supposed

Read More
199 Words | 1 Pages

Escherichia Coli aka E. Coli, has the ability to absorb and contain uranium. Although there are strains of it that can cause disease, this can handle nuclear waste. While it would be good if this bacteria did disappear, nuclear waste spills could get out of hand. For example, if a spill had gone into the ocean, this could potentially get into our water supply and harm marine animals. By harming the marine animals, they could eventually mutate or become harmful to us when consumed.

Read More
1284 Words | 6 Pages

In this diagram, a neutron is absorbed by a uranium-235 nucleus, as a result, it turns of a small period of time to an excited uranium-236 nucleus, with the excitation energy provided by the kinetic energy of the neutron plus the forces that bind to the neutron. The uranium-236 then splits into two, smaller, lighter, fast-moving elements (these are known as fission products) and releases three free neutrons as well as gamma rays. Fusion and fission are nuclear reactions. Fusion is the binding of two atoms to produce a heavier atom while fission is splitting of an atom. Fusion releases more energy than fission and powers the stars.

Read More
3678 Words | 15 Pages

Nuclear energy is one of the several alternative energy sources that have been introduced ever since. Nuclear energy’s various advantages entice many countries to start practicing it. One must consider the amount of energy generated by nuclear fuels, as they are highly-concentrated energy sources. Small uranium pellets, which are the most common form of fuel in generating nuclear energy, can generate as much electricity as a trainload full of coal does. In addition, nuclear power plants do not produce green house gases as byproducts.

Read More
1433 Words | 6 Pages

Introduction Nuclear energy is the energy that is found in the nucleus of an atom. Atoms are smaller particles, which can be divided into a material. In the nucleus of each atom there are two types of particles (neutrons and protons) which are always united. Nuclear energy is the energy that allows the permanent union of neutrons and protons.

Read More
1006 Words | 5 Pages

The first section is about possible applications of nuclear power, the second is about nuclear power in the wrong hands, the third gives solutions offered to solve the problem, and the part is our point of view on this matter. Humans ' interest in nuclear power leads to engaging this power in a lot of fields. It was used to provide heat because splitting reaction produces heat naturally. In addition, nuclear power can help us produce electricity, which is required in different fields all around the world. Moreover, It is used to diagnose diseases in the hospitals by using its radioactivity.

Read More
944 Words | 4 Pages

It is true that there have been major accidents at Three Mile Island, Chernobyl and Fukushima. However those are the only accidents that have occurred in a total of 16,000 cumulative reactor years (“Safety of Nuclear Power Reactors”). The actual amount of accidents that happens are quite low. Moreover, even when those accidents happen, the radiation that you would receive would (normally) be the same or less than what you would receive from natural sources (Lynas). Thus, if those accidents happen, and it is very unlikely that they will, they will not give you any adverse effects when handled

Read More
1917 Words | 8 Pages

This in turn, is a way to combat global warming. Nuclear energy works on the principle of splitting the nucleus of an atom to smaller nuclei, similar to the idea of splitting a watermelon into smaller pieces. This fission results in the release of large amounts of energy, which is used to turn electric generators to give an equally vast amount of electricity. Uranium is most commonly used for such fission since it is one of the sparingly few fissile isotopes present in the periodic table. Some would say the mining of Uranium for use in nuclear fission is as damaging to the environment as coal, or even more due to the radioactive nature of the materials being mined(Aref, n.d.).

Read More

More about How Atoms Have To Look At The Structure Of An Atom

Related Topics

Open Document