• Question: How do you split a atom?????

    Asked by Bennerf920 to RocketRich, Jenn, Floris, Elie, Col Op on 10 Mar 2016.
    • Photo: Columbus Operations

      Columbus Operations answered on 10 Mar 2016:

      Tom: Well, not really our Business here in teh Columbus Control Center…;-)

    • Photo: Jenn Wadsworth

      Jenn Wadsworth answered on 10 Mar 2016:

      Atoms with a large amount of protons and neutrons in their nucleus are pretty unstable. If you fire a neutron at an element like Uranium, it absorbs the neutron and the extra energy it gets from doing so it enough to make the whole atom so unstable it falls apart. When the atom splits into two smaller atoms, it releases more neutrons and energy. If there’s more Uranium around, this results in a chain reaction…and BOOM! 🙂

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