Nuclear fission and nuclear fusion - what exactly happens in these processes?

Many of you will have heard the terms "nuclear fission" and "nuclear fusion" before. Nuclear fission means the splitting of atomic nuclei – this is the process by which energy is generated in nuclear power plants. With fusion, it is exactly the other way round: Here, the atomic nuclei amalgamate. But what exactly happens in these two processes, and why is so much energy released in the course? Find out more in our video.

[GrapeJuiceIII]

This video is 3 years old but a correction for the very end: we have been able to fuse atoms for a very long time. Tokamak reactors have been around since the 60’s and scientists have been able to successfully create a plasma fit for fusing hydrogen, however it cannot be sustained for a long period of time, meaning energy is currently being lost not gained by nuclear fusion

[BlueKeyAnimations]

It's not the impact that causes the atom to split, it's that the addition of another neutron makes the atom unstable, therefore it splits.

[mcwho]

I feel like I'm listening to Janet from A Good Place. She's all I can picture with the voice. I love it!

[severussnape]

Awesome explanation! I loved the rubber band analogy for the strong nuclear force

[heru-deshet]

Great. Now I can build the reactor for my Delorean.

[magnvss]

I kind of had the information from before but this video clarifies a few points. Also makes me realize why practical Nuclear Fussion is always "30 years away" (because for what I see, reliable and net energy gain from Nuclear Fussion may be more difficult that it seemed).

[MeowtronStar]

I was going crazy trying to understand where the hell that gamma radiation and the extra kinetic energy come from. Finally I found this video that explains it using the rubber band analogy and the role of the strong nuclear force. Amazing. Thank you so much.

[jordanerickson]

Clear and straight forward explanation - thanks!

[sorestarbing]

Thank you. You have improved my understanding in just 5 minutes

[danbrunson]

At 4:43, did she mean to say "fusion" instead of "fission", or am I even more cornfused?

[potawatomi]

Great video, superbly explained, and excellent delivery. Thank you for your great work.

[nicholasivanderstoop]

Best explanation yet. Thank you for that.

[innocentmunashe]

You have no idea how much this helped. Your explanations are very good

[confusedfan]

just wanted to clarify it's the the force of impact of the neutron on the nucleus which cause it to split during nuclear fission
in fact, the neutron is absorbed by the nucleus and the latter becomes highly unstable and *then* it splits




you're welcome

[siddharthnagani]

That explanation was great.
Keep up the same style and orientation.
Thank you! Milady

[karhukivi]

Nuclear energy is simply the electrostatic repulsion of the protons in the nucleus. The neutrons act as the "glue" via the strong interaction to hold the nucleus together. Too many or too few neutrons and the nucleus is unstable. Furthermore, odd numbers of either neutrons or protons also tend to make the nucleus more unstable, hence isotopes like U-235, Cs-137 etc.

[HARISHCOACHINGCENTER]

Thank you it was awesome video so clear and crisp

[FaisalAli-nlge]

amazing video and really easy way to giving basic concept...i really like this video

[rasittasdelen]

I think it is the clearest explanation of both phenomenons.. thnks a lot for this awesome video..

[q_q]

Thanks. Really well explained. The rubber band analogy really helped me