Re: Nuclear topics in physics?

["John S. Denker" <jsd@MONMOUTH.COM>]

Ludwik suggested asking:
> > (1) What happens to the released energy? (2) What
> > prevents heavy nuclei from fissioning very rapidly?

Bernard Cleyet wrote:
> Eisberg and Lerner discuss this, I think well, in one page.

OK, I'll take the bait.  I don't have that book.

I still think the original question (2) sounds a bit backwards.  The
really heavy nuclei _do_ decay very rapidly.

So I think the questions should be
 2a) why don't light nuclei decay?
 2b) why don't heavy nuclei decay any more rapidly than they do?
 2c) why is spontaneous fission rare compared to other decay modes?

I don't see any way to even approach question (2c) without first
spending some quality time running down the various decay modes.

  http://www.science.uwaterloo.ca/~cchieh/cact/nuctek/decaytype.html