Science Common Sense

247 - What happens during a nuclear reaction?

A nuclear reaction is when the tiny particles inside an atom's center, called the nucleus, change or break apart. This releases a lot of energy.

Imagine the nucleus as a tightly packed ball of LEGO bricks. When these LEGO bricks (or protons and neutrons) break apart or reorganize, a huge amount of energy is released. This energy can be used to make electricity in power plants or can be used in bad ways like in nuclear bombs.

There are two types of nuclear reactions:

  1. Fission (splitting the LEGO bricks)
  2. Fusion (combining the LEGO bricks)

Both types release a lot of energy, but they work in different ways.

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