Human-Caused And Natural Fission:

The problems including beryllium and oxygen are given for descriptive purposes, but the real breaking up of atomic nuclei is not such a simple business. A physicist cannot snap an atomic nucleus separately as if it were a toy. The nuclear reactions should take place under special circumstances, and the outcomes are not as simple as the foregoing problems recommend.

To divide atomic nuclei in the laboratory, a particle accelerator is employ. This machine uses magnetic fields, electric charges, and other effects to hurl subatomic particles at tremendous speeds at the nuclei of atoms to divide them separately. The outcome is a fission reaction, frequently attended by the discharge of energy in different forms.

Some fission reactions take place spontaneously. Such a reaction can occur atom-by-atom over a long period of time, as is the situation with the decay of radioactive minerals in the atmosphere. The reaction can take place rapidly but under controlled conditions, as in a nuclear power plant. It can occur in almost instantly and out of control, as in an atomic bomb whenever two adequately massive samples of certain radioactive materials are pressed altogether.