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The asymmetry of nuclear fission

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Abstract

One of the essential characteristics of nuclear fission and of processes occuring in nuclear reactors is the distribution of fission fragments by mass. According to the drop model of the nucleus, a symmetrical mass distribution of the fragments is most probable, but this, however, is contrary to experiment.

To find the mass distribution of the fragments, in this work we calculated the energy of the fissionable nucleus before rapture of the neck, taking into account shell effects, for several nuclei. It was shown that the energy minimum corresponds to asymmetric fission.

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Geilikman, B.T. The asymmetry of nuclear fission. The Soviet Journal of Atomic Energy 6, 178–183 (1960). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01481450

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01481450

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