Why is it called chain reaction?

Why is it called chain reaction?

chain reaction, in chemistry and physics, process yielding products that initiate further processes of the same kind, a self-sustaining sequence. So-called branching chain reactions are a form of chain reaction in which the number of chain carriers increases in each propagation. …

Is a fission reaction a chain reaction?

Nuclear chain reactions are series of nuclear fissions (splitting of atomic nuclei), each initiated by a neutron produced in a preceding fission. For example, 21/2 neutrons on the average are released by the fission of each uranium-235 nucleus that absorbs a low-energy neutron.

How is nuclear fission a chain reaction?

Nuclear fission is the splitting of a large atomic nucleus into smaller nuclei. In addition to the ‘daughter’ products, two or three neutrons also explode out of the fission reaction and these can collide with other uranium nuclei to cause further fission reactions. This is known as a chain reaction .

What is chain reaction short definition?

A chain reaction is a sequence of reactions where a reactive product or by-product causes additional reactions to take place. In a chain reaction, positive feedback leads to a self-amplifying chain of events.

What is another word for chain reaction?

What is another word for chain reaction?

domino effect knock-on effect
train of events chemical reaction
vicious circle causal nexus
series of events cause and effect
chain of circumstances concatenation of events

What does the term chain reaction mean?

A chain reaction refers to a process in which neutrons released in fission produce an additional fission in at least one further nucleus. This nucleus in turn produces neutrons, and the process repeats. The process may be controlled (nuclear power) or uncontrolled (nuclear weapons).

Who Discovered chain reaction?

Enrico Fermi, the Italian-born Nobel Prize-winning physicist, directs and controls the first nuclear chain reaction in his laboratory beneath the bleachers of Stagg Field at the University of Chicago, ushering in the nuclear age.

What does the phrase chain reaction mean?

Definition of chain reaction 1a : a series of events so related to each other that each one initiates the next. b : a number of events triggered by the same initial event.

What is chain reaction explain?

A chain reaction refers to a process in which neutrons released in fission produce an additional fission in at least one further nucleus. If each neutron releases two more neutrons, then the number of fissions doubles each generation.

Why is a nuclear fission reaction a chain reaction?

A nuclear fission is a chain reaction because it produces its own reagents, thus allowing more nuclear fissions. Explanation: Be a radioactive atom #A# which, when hit by a neuttron #n#, disintegrates into two lighter atoms #B# and #C# and #x# neutrons.

What is a chain reaction in chemistry?

Chain reaction – A multi-stage nuclear reaction that sustains itself in a series of fissions, in which the release of neutrons from the splitting of one atom leads to the splitting of others. Critical mass – The smallest mass of a fissionable material that will sustain a nuclear chain reaction at a constant level.

What is the minimum required condition for a stable chain reaction?

The required condition for a stable, self-sustained fission chain reaction in a multiplying system (in a nuclear reactor) is that exactly every fission initiate another fission. The minimum condition is for each nucleus undergoing fission to produce, on the average, at least one neutron that causes fission of another nucleus.

How many neutrons are produced in a chain reaction?

The chain reaction can take place only in the proper multiplication environment and only under proper conditions. The fission process may produce 2, 3 or more free neutrons that are capable of inducing further fissions and so on.