arrow is indeed balanced. To find the number of neutrons, solve for x in the last
equation (arrow):So there are two neutrons produced in this reaction. These neutrons are free to go on and be
absorbed by more ^235 U and cause more fissioning, and the process continues in a chain reaction.
Note that it really was not necessary to know that the intermediate state was formed.
Some radioactive nuclei may be induced to fission via more than one decay channel or decay mode.
For example, a different fission reaction may occur when uranium-235 absorbs a slow neutron and
then immediately splits into barium-139, krypton-94, and three more neutrons with no
intermediate state:
RADIOACTIVE DECAY
Radioactive decay is a naturally occurring spontaneous decay of certain nuclei accompanied by the
emission of specific particles. It could be classified as a certain type of fission. Radioactive decay
problems are of the following general types:
BASIC CONCEPT
The parent nucleus undergoes radioactive decay to produce the daughter nucleus.Isotope Decay Arithmetic and Nucleon Conservation
The integer arithmetic of particle and isotope species
Radioactive half-life problems
The use of exponential decay curves and decay constants