fission

UK/ˈfɪʃən/US/ˈfɪʃən/

nounC1Rare in speech; mostly a word you read · #11,833 of 15,258leans written

Fission is splitting a heavy nucleus to release energy. Nuclear fission, fission reactor, fission products.

A heavy atom splits and releases neutrons that split more, which is the chain reaction every power station and every early bomb depends on. Fusion is the opposite, joining light nuclei, and is harder. In biology, binary fission is how bacteria divide. Note that the Latin means a splitting.

Definitions of fission

1nounfissionSplitting a heavy nucleus to release energy.C1
“Nuclear power stations produce energy through the fission of uranium atoms.”

fission is a splitting.

Where it comes from

Latin fissio means a splitting, from findere, to split. Fissure and fissile come from the same splitting.

Proto-Indo-European
*bʰeyd-
Latin
fissiōnem
English, today
fission

Built from

fissiō · Latin — the act of breaking up
findō · Latin — split, divide

Borrowed from Latin fissiōnem, accusative singular of fissiō (“the act of breaking up”), from findō (“split, divide”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practised in Science & Space

Practise this word

fission in the wild

Nuclear fission is a reaction in which the nucleus of an atom splits into two or more smaller nuclei.
Nuclear fission
The fission process often produces neutrons and gamma rays, and releases a very large amount of energy even by the energetic standards of radioactive decay.
Nuclear fission
The specific nuclear reaction may be the fission of heavy isotopes.
Nuclear chain reaction
Fissile nuclei absorb single neutrons and split, releasing energy and multiple neutrons, which can induce further fission.
Nuclear reactor
Heat from nuclear fission is passed to a working fluid coolant.
Nuclear reactor

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From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.

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