The phenomenon of particles (including atomic nuclei) colliding and causing changes in the mass, charge, or energy state of atomic nuclei. This term also applies to elasticity scattering. The discovery and research of nuclear reaction is of great significance in the field of nuclear physics and nuclear engineering. The basic characteristics of nuclear reaction include: the equation of nuclear reaction describes the interaction between the initial particle (reactant) and the final particle (product). These equations reflect the changes in reactants and the energy released or absorbed. Q value (also called reaction energy) is a key parameter of nuclear reaction. When the Q value is positive, it indicates that energy is released during the reaction, and vice versa, energy is absorbed. The released energy can be expressed as the kinetic energy of the reaction product or the excitation energy of the product nucleus. nuclear reaction obeys the conservation laws of energy, momentum, mass and charge, which are the basic principles of nuclear reaction. The research of nuclear reaction is of great significance in the fields of nuclear physics, nuclear engineering, nuclear energy utilization (including nuclear fission and nuclear fusion) and elementary particle physics. Through the use of various types of accelerators and nuclear reactor, thousands of different nuclear reaction have been produced, and a large number of radioisotope and a series of basic particles have been obtained, such as mesons, hyperons, antiprotons, antineutrons, etc. These studies are helpful to understand the structure of atomic nucleus, the mechanism of nuclear reaction, the application of nuclear energy and the interaction between elementary particles.
Energy Materials -> Nuclear energy materials