Scientists Shot Neutrons at Everything... Then Nuclear Energy Happened (Part 1 of 3)

Discussions of nuclear energy and weapons are everywhere today, but how was nuclear fission even discovered?

Read More:
A Legacy of Ashes: The Uranium Mines Of Eastern Germany
“They were once shrouded with the secrecy of the Wismut uranium mines, begun in the first fever of Stalin's drive for atomic weaponry and for years the largest supplier of uranium for Moscow's nuclear effort.”

Introduction: The Nuclear Age
“The Earth exploded into the nuclear age on 16 July 1945. On that day, the US tested a completely new type of weapon in the New Mexico desert.”

December 1938: Discovery of Nuclear Fission
“Trying to explain a puzzling finding made by nuclear chemist Otto Hahn in Berlin, Meitner and Frisch realized that something previously thought impossible was actually happening: that a uranium nucleus had split in two.”

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[AifDaimon]

The physics puns are kinda funny, actually, especially since I've not really heard of them before now.

[TheJaseku]

That episode was just brilliant. The puns were on point and the explanatons were super clear and still very natural. Thanks Trace.

[zamundaaa]

The reason why big atoms put out energy when being split and small ones when being fused is a balance between the charges of the Protons (repulsing each other) and the Strong Force that keeps stuff together. The strong force is very limited in range but is very strong whilst the electromagnetic force is weak*er* but unlimited in range. The strong force only keeps nucleons (protons & neutrons) together with their neighbors, so at a certain amount of nucleons it is at a maximum. The protons' repulsion accumulates with higher numbers, so it can rip atom cores apart when you got a heavy atom. Often the strong force can keep it together for quite some time but if you shoot some neutrons at the core then it'll become more unstable and the electromagnetic force is able to rip it into two (or more) parts
You can at least imagine it like that. As it's calculated the stability of cores is dependent on the average binding energy per nucleon and if the smaller cores (or bigger ones) have a higher binding energy per nucleon then it'll split or fuse. The average binding energy per nucleon is increased (up to a certain amount) by more neutrons and decreased by more protons. Iron is in the sweet spot, it has one of the highest binding energies per nucleon, that's why fusion usually stops when it produces iron

[jack-gfjw]

I'm really impressed with how funny you made that Trace great vid!

[Master_Therion]

5:32 LOL when you are saying how Ida Noddack already theorized about fission.
Ida Noddack is like, "I duh, know dat."

[starspawn]

*nuclear bomb goes off*.

*Honda Civics go flying everywhere*.

[draxquirnon]

Hi Trace!!! Great video!!! I’m anxious for part 2 and 3!!!
Love you buddy!!!

[solipsistcynic]

I can't wait for Part 2 to upload! :)

[Vicioussama]

Hope you'll definitely get to Thorium Reactors and their benefits/why we don't have them as a staple yet, etc.

[almostsomebody]

Seeker- Now i dont consider myself smart by any means but the way you break stuff down too terms for all is perfect! So pls keep the great videos coming and our brains getting smarter unlike most youtube videos...

[zapfanzapfan]

9:06 Not Polonium-239, it's Plutonium-239, Micky's dog is not named Polo, it's Pluto, ok? Uranium, Neptunium, Plutonium, named after the planets, get it!?

[rocknrollmanic]

+1 like for the Curie reference. Thank you for bringing them up, not many know of their contributions to electronic and robotics

[dragonlord]

Loved this episode and this 3 part deep dive style. Also I really like the progress bar you have going on at the bottom.

[OscarASevilla]

Dammit.. This is the first time I have to wait for the next episodes..

[tmarti]

When I did an analyst’s of fusion it looks like it could be done in as little as five years. That is because it can be shielded with a simple layer of Boron. School kids do fusion occasionally at home and protect themselves with a boron solution. That more speed in research would be done by going as small as possible. There is less expensive and less superconducting magnets and smaller central rotation problem. The only thing is theses reactors would not last twenty to forty years, but would still be useful in space propulsion and space colonization. It would even provide magnetic shielding to the crew. Even the durability could be addressed going smaller then the two meter diameters tokomaks proposed today. Trace can I send you a detailed document on this?

[Stinkys]

We need to pull all our top physicists together to figure out why people put stickers on their laptop.

[srijangupta.automobile]

6:01 Every car enthusiast *TRIGGERED!*

[ggmmgm]

Trace is the best! He makes science fun

[opium]

''break the parking lot in half, releasing energy'' lol

[MrKydaman]

What's up fellow proton....ooops, I mean Honda Civic drivers!