The mass defect is the result of what action occurring? A) mass being converted to energy when protons and neutrons bind together in a nucleus B) protons and electrons being attracted to each other C) energy being converted into moles of atoms when neutrons break apart protons D) mass being converted to energy when protons and neutrons break apart in a nucleus

If two nuclei are to fuse in a nuclear reaction, they must be moving fast enough so that the repulsive Coulomb force between them does not prevent them for getting within R1014mof one another. At this distance or nearer, the attractive nuclear force can overcome the Coulomb force, and the nuclei are able to fuse. (a) Find a simple formula that can be used to estimate the minimum kinetic energy the nuclei must have if they are to fuse. To keep the calculation simple, assume the two nuclei are identical and moving toward one another with the same speed v. (b) Use this minimum kinetic energy to estimate the minimum temperature a gas of the nuclei must have before a significant number of them will undergo fusion. Calculate this minimum temperature first for hydrogen and then for helium. (Hint: For fusion to occur, the minimum kinetic energy when the nuclei are far apart must be equal to the Coulomb potential energy when they are a distance R apart.)

What conservation law requires an electron’s neutrino to be produced in electron capture? Note that the electron no longer exists after it is captured by the nucleus.

The Galileo space probe was launched on its long journey past Venus and Earth in 1989, with an ultimate goal of Jupiter. Its power source is 11.0 kg of 238Pu, a by-product of nuclear weapons plutonium production. Electrical energy is generated thermoelectrically from the heat produced when the 5.59-MeV a panicles emitted in each decay crash to a halt inside the plutonium and its shielding. The half-life of 238Pu is 87.7 years. What was the original activity of the 238Pu in becquerels? What power was emitted in kilowatts? What power was emitted 12.0 y after launch? You may neglect any extra energy from daughter nuclides and any losses from escaping rays.