What is the difference between nuclear fission and fusion?

Answer 1

Short answer:

Fission is what happens to the heaviest elements (Uranium, Plutonium, etc. ) when they SPLIT apart. fission means to split apart. Fission is what gives nuclear power plants their heat, and atom bombs their energy

Fusion is what happens to the lightest elements (Hydrogen, Helium, etc.) when they JOIN TOGETHER (or fuse together -- hence "fus"ion). Fusion is what fires up the sun and the stars.

Answer 2

the atomic age started with "splitting the atom" which refers to fission. The A-bomb is a fission bomb which explodes when the critical mass of a fisionable isotope is exceeded, e.g. uranium 235. Fusion occurs when isotopes of hydrogen- deuterium and tritium are heated to > 1 million degrees Celcius. At this temp. they "fuse" together to form new elements such as Strontium-90. YHowever, not all the mass of the isotopes end up as new elements some of the mass is converted to energy which results in an explosion. To reach 1 million degrees the trigger of a "hydrogen" bomb or thermonuclear device is an atom bomb.

Answer 3

nuclear fission is splitting up of a heavy nucleus into 2 or more nuclei of smaller mass.(atomic stations)
nuclear fusion is the reaction taking place at the surface of the sun in which 4 H nuclei combine to form 1 nucleus of He releasing heat.