fission
the act of cleaving or splitting into parts.
Also called nuclear fission .Physics. the splitting of the nucleus of an atom into nuclei of lighter atoms, accompanied by the release of energy.: Compare fusion (def. 4).
Biology. the division of an organism into new organisms as a process of reproduction.
Physics. to undergo fission.
Physics. to cause to undergo fission.
Origin of fission
1Words that may be confused with fission
- fission , fusion
Words Nearby fission
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use fission in a sentence
Each fission also releases additional neutrons, which bounce around within the reactor at a variety of energies.
Mathematician J. Ernest Wilkins Jr. was a Manhattan Project standout despite racism | Emily Conover | June 22, 2021 | Science NewsMeitner was nominated for the prize — sometimes in physics, other times in chemistry — a whopping 48 times, most after the discovery of fission.
How matter’s hidden complexity unleashed the power of nuclear physics | Emily Conover | April 8, 2021 | Science NewsHahn received the 1944 Nobel Prize in chemistry for the discovery of fission, but Meitner never won a Nobel, in a decision now widely considered unjust.
How matter’s hidden complexity unleashed the power of nuclear physics | Emily Conover | April 8, 2021 | Science NewsSo we have to have other paths—like fission or fusion—that can give us that reliable source of electricity, which we’ll be even more dependent on than ever.
Bill Gates: Rich nations should shift entirely to synthetic beef | James Temple | February 15, 2021 | MIT Technology ReviewSeaborg recalled that at first Oppenheimer didn’t believe fission happened.
How understanding nature made the atomic bomb inevitable | Tom Siegfried | August 6, 2020 | Science News
One of the isotopes of fission products, when fuel melts, is an iodine isotope, and it goes in your body through your thyroid.
Rick turned in time to see the side of El Viejo blow off in an explosion that made ten kilotons of fission seem puny indeed.
The Flaming Mountain | Harold Leland GoodwinThe United States, indeed, is still in the process of fusion following the earlier fission process.
Virginia Under Charles I And Cromwell, 1625-1660 | Wilcomb E. WashburnSome bacilli after fission retain a characteristic arrangement and may be spoken of as Diplobacilli or Streptobacilli.
The Elements of Bacteriological Technique | John William Henry EyreSuch broad groupings as these have, however, but little practical value when applied to the systematic study of the fission fungi.
The Elements of Bacteriological Technique | John William Henry EyrePrior to maturity the future line of fission is plainly indicated by the difference in color.
The North American Slime-Moulds | Thomas H. (Thomas Huston) MacBride
British Dictionary definitions for fission
/ (ˈfɪʃən) /
the act or process of splitting or breaking into parts
biology a form of asexual reproduction in single-celled animals and plants involving a division into two or more equal parts that develop into new cells
short for nuclear fission
Origin of fission
1Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Scientific definitions for fission
[ fĭsh′ən ]
The splitting of an unstable atomic nucleus into two or more nuclei. Fission occurs spontaneously, generally when a nucleus has an excess of neutrons, resulting in the inability of the strong force to bind the protons and neutrons together. The fission reaction used in many nuclear reactors and bombs involves the absorption of neutrons by uranium-235 nuclei, which immediately undergo fission, releasing energy and fast neutrons. Compare fusion.
A process of asexual reproduction in which a single cell splits to form two identical, independent cells. In fission, the chromosomal DNA replicates before the cell divides. Most bacteria and other prokaryotes reproduce by means of fission. Also called binary fission
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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