Nuclear fission and fusion
Nuclear Chemistry · Chemistry
Study notes
One fission releases 200 MeV. How many fissions per second power a 1 GW reactor? Step 1: 200 MeV = 200 × 1.6×10⁻¹³ J = 3.2×10⁻¹¹ J. Step 2: 1 GW = 10⁹ J/s. Step 3: Fissions/s = 10⁹ / 3.2×10⁻¹¹ ≈ 3.1×10¹⁹. Step 4: Mass used: ~1 kg uranium per day — a million times less than coal for the same energy!