Fission-fragment rocket
Have you ever seen a rocket launch? When a rocket launches, it uses a lot of fuel to blast off into space. But did you know that there is another type of rocket that uses a different kind of fuel called fission-fragments?
Fission-fragments are tiny pieces that break off of an atom when it is split in half. Just like how a cookie breaks into pieces when you snap it in half. These tiny pieces can be used as fuel for a rocket!
To make a fission-fragment rocket, scientists take a special kind of material called uranium-235 (U-235) and split it in half. This process is called nuclear fission. When U-235 is split in half, it creates a lot of heat and energy. This energy is used to heat up a gas like hydrogen, which then shoots out of the back of the rocket like a big, powerful jet.
The pieces that break off from the uranium-235 are called fission fragments. These fragments are very small, but they are moving super-fast and can be used to create a lot of thrust. The faster the fission fragments move, the more powerful the rocket will be!
Fission-fragment rockets are still being studied and tested by scientists, but they have the potential to be much faster and more efficient than traditional rockets. And because the fuel is so small, a fission-fragment rocket could carry a lot more of it into space, which means it could travel farther and stay in space longer than traditional rockets.
So, to put it simply, a fission-fragment rocket is a type of rocket that uses tiny pieces from a special kind of material called uranium-235 to create a lot of energy and thrust to blast off into space.
Fission-fragments are tiny pieces that break off of an atom when it is split in half. Just like how a cookie breaks into pieces when you snap it in half. These tiny pieces can be used as fuel for a rocket!
To make a fission-fragment rocket, scientists take a special kind of material called uranium-235 (U-235) and split it in half. This process is called nuclear fission. When U-235 is split in half, it creates a lot of heat and energy. This energy is used to heat up a gas like hydrogen, which then shoots out of the back of the rocket like a big, powerful jet.
The pieces that break off from the uranium-235 are called fission fragments. These fragments are very small, but they are moving super-fast and can be used to create a lot of thrust. The faster the fission fragments move, the more powerful the rocket will be!
Fission-fragment rockets are still being studied and tested by scientists, but they have the potential to be much faster and more efficient than traditional rockets. And because the fuel is so small, a fission-fragment rocket could carry a lot more of it into space, which means it could travel farther and stay in space longer than traditional rockets.
So, to put it simply, a fission-fragment rocket is a type of rocket that uses tiny pieces from a special kind of material called uranium-235 to create a lot of energy and thrust to blast off into space.
Related topics others have asked about: