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Nuclear fission is the process by which a heavy atomic nucleus (such as uranium-235 or plutonium-239) splits into smaller nuclei, releasing enormous energy. Otto Hahn, Lise Meitner, and Fritz Strassmann discovered fission in 1938; within seven years, it had powered both nuclear reactors and the bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Nuclear power today generates about 10% of the world's electricity with the lowest carbon footprint per kilowatt-hour of any energy source. The Chernobyl (1986) and Fukushima (2011) disasters shaped public perception negatively, but nuclear power has actually caused fewer deaths per unit of energy than coal, oil, or gas.
# Top 10 Nuclear Fission facts
- 1The atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima released energy equivalent to 15,000 tons of TNT
- 2Nuclear power has the lowest death rate per unit of energy of any source — even solar kills more via manufacturing accidents
- 3A lump of uranium the size of a golf ball contains more energy than 800 tons of coal
Fascinating Facts
- ◆The atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima released energy equivalent to 15,000 tons of TNT
- ◆Nuclear power has the lowest death rate per unit of energy of any source — even solar kills more via manufacturing accidents
- ◆A lump of uranium the size of a golf ball contains more energy than 800 tons of coal
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