Does fission or fussion produce radioactive by-products?

Answer 1

The daughter atoms from nuclear fission are nearly always radioactive and nearly always have very short half lives decaying through chains of atoms of short half lives. There is a reason for this.

We do not know exactly what the daughter atoms from the fission of a given atom will be, but we do know they will contain all the protons of the parent. The number of neutrons is also preserved, though a few unbound neutrons are usually emitted from the fission. Since atoms with higher atomic numbers can have a greater proportion of protons to neutrons, the daughters usually have far too many neutrons to be stable, and will usually undergo negative beta decay. For example, the fission of 235U might look like this:

92235U --> 3692Kr + 56141Ba + 2n

The most massive stable isotope of krypton is 86Kr, so our daughter krypton atom has six too many neutrons to be stable. The decay chain of the 92Kr, given as isotopes and half lives, is as follows, with all decays by negative beta decay:

92Kr 1.8 seconds

92Rb 4.5 seconds

92Sr 2.71 hours

92Y 3.54 hours

92Zr stable

The most massive stable isotope of barium is 138Ba, so our daughter has three too many neutrons to be stable. The decay chain of the 141Ba similar to the above is as follows, again all by negative beta decay:

141Ba 18.27 minutes

141La 3.92 hours

141Ce 32.5 days

141Pr stable

Most of the daughter decay chains do not produce stable isotopes nearly as quickly as the above, with many having products with half lives of decades to millennia. By comparison, our parent atom, 235U, had a half life of 703,800,000 years.

Answer 2

Fission produces radioactive by-products, such as nuclear waste and spent fuel rods, as a result of splitting heavy atomic nuclei. Fusion, on the other hand, does not produce long-lived radioactive waste products, but may produce some short-lived activation products that are radioactive.

Answer 3

Yes in a way. It produces nuclear waste of different strengths which is radioactive

Answer 4

Both fission and fusion produce radiation as they occur, but it is fission that produces radioactive byproducts.

Answer 5

Nuclear fission often produces radioactive byproducts but generally not fusion.

Answer 6

Yes. The products of nuclear fission are usually highly radioactive.