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Q.What is nuclear fusion? Write the underlying principle of atom bomb. OR Write two defects of Rutherford's atomic model.

Meghalaya MboseMBOSE Meghalaya Intermediate Board 2024Subjective· 2mImportance★★★★★
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Nuclear fusion releases energy by combining light nuclei into a heavier one with slightly less total mass; the atom bomb, by contrast, releases energy via the reverse-sounding but distinct process of nuclear fission — a heavy nucleus splitting apart in a self-sustaining chain reaction.

Nuclear fusion

When two light nuclei (e.g. isotopes of hydrogen) combine to form a heavier nucleus (e.g. helium), the mass of the product nucleus is slightly less than the sum of the masses of the reactant nuclei. This "missing" mass Δm\Delta m is released as energy according to E=Δm c2E = \Delta m\, c^2. This is called nuclear fusion, and it requires extremely high temperature and pressure (as in stars, including the Sun) to overcome the strong Coulomb repulsion between the positively charged nuclei before the short-range strong nuclear force can bind them.

Principle of the atom bomb

The atom bomb is based on uncontrolled nuclear fission: a heavy, fissile nucleus (such as 235U^{235}\text{U} or 239Pu^{239}\text{Pu}) absorbs a neutron and splits into two lighter nuclei, releasing a large amount of energy and 2–3 additional neutrons. If a sufficient mass of fissile material (above the "critical mass") is present, these released neutrons go on to split further nuclei, and the process multiplies exponentially in a fraction of a second — an uncontrolled chain reaction — releasing an enormous amount of energy almost instantaneously, causing the explosive effect of the atom bomb.

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