If you think to nuclear fuel for nuclear power reactors it is generally sintered uranium dioxide (UO2) pellets.
Neutrons are necessary to start a fission reaction. When a neutron collides with a heavy atomic nucleus, such as uranium-235, it can induce the nucleus to split and release more neutrons, leading to a chain reaction.
Uranium-235
Uranium-238 and Uranium-235 do not release neutrons spontaneously in nature in the same way they do during a fission process. Neutrons are typically required to initiate the fission process in nuclear reactions. In natural settings, radioactive decay processes such as alpha and beta decay occur in uranium isotopes, but not neutron release.
Uranium fission creates a chain reaction that initiates a chain reaction that grows exponentially into a massive conversion of the potential energy inside the uranium atom into kinetic energy in the form of an explosion - a nuclear explosion. These are the bombs that ended WW2. Today we can split H atoms, which release significantly more energy.
Enriched fuel pellets are used to fuel nuclear reactors, particularly in nuclear power plants. These pellets consist of enriched uranium to sustain the nuclear fission process that generates heat to produce electricity.
1. The material for enrichment is the uranium hexafluoride (UF6) not uranium dioxide pellets. 2. For a nuclear fission and and a nuclear chain reaction we need thermal neutrons.
A nuclear fission reaction.
The nuclear fission of uranium is a reaction with neutrons.
Nuclear fission
Containers for uranium pellets are typically called fuel rods or fuel assemblies. These containers are designed to safely hold the uranium pellets, which are used as fuel in nuclear reactors to generate energy through the process of nuclear fission.
A typical uranium fission event produces 2 to 3 neutrons. These neutrons are moderated (slowed down) and go on to initiate the fission of more uranium. On average, in a controlled reaction that is maintained at normal criticality (KEffective = 1), each fission creates exactly one neutron that is used to produce another fission.
Fuel rods are used to hold pellets of uranium in nuclear reactors. These rods are typically made of a material like zirconium to encase the uranium pellets and control the nuclear fission reactions within the reactor.
When uranium-235 is bombarded with a neutron, it may undergo a fission reaction, resulting in the formation of multiple fission products, which may include different numbers of neutrons depending on the specific reaction that takes place. Typically, fission of uranium-235 produces around 2 to 3 neutrons per fission event.
In such a case nuclear fission occurs.
Not fusion, but a fission reaction.
The "Little Boy" bomb used in the Hiroshima bombing was a fission bomb, specifically a gun-type uranium-235 bomb. It relied on the nuclear fission of uranium-235 to release a massive amount of energy.
The element most commonly used as a fuel in nuclear fission reactions is uranium-235. It is a naturally occurring isotope of uranium that can sustain a chain reaction under controlled conditions in nuclear reactors.