Question

8. What is the difference between fission and fusion? 9. • (a) Which elements in the periodic table are more likely to undergo nuclear fission? (b) Which are more likely to undergo nuclear fusion?

Answer 1

Nuclear fission is a process in which the nucleus of an atom splits into two or more smaller nuclei as fission products. Whereas, Nuclear Fusion occurs when two smaller atoms collide at very high energies to merge, creating a larger, heavier atom.

The heavy nucleus of atoms like uranium, plutonium or thorium which have a high number of nucleons in it is most likely to go fission.

whereas, Lighter elements undergo nuclear fusion, which is carried out by heating lighter atoms to an extremely high temperature such as two deuterium nuclei combine to form helium which has a heavy nucleus.