fi
ssion
Plural
fissions
1
(chemistry) the splitting of a heavy and unstable atomic nucleus into lighter parts
- Nuclear fission was discovered in the late 1930s and provided insight into the enormous energy released during the splitting of uranium atoms.
- During the Manhattan Project, scientists worked to harness fission for military purposes and developed the first atomic bombs that explode via nuclear fission.
- Studies of the fission process have helped expand understanding of nuclear stability and the breakdown of heavy isotopes into lighter fragments.
Synonyms:
2
(biology) the process where a single cell splits itself into two or more daughter cells
- Yeast cells undergo fission to multiply rapidly through asexual budding and pinching division.
- Fission is an efficient form of reproduction that helps single-celled organisms populate their environment swiftly.
- Under the microscope, scientists observed bacterial fission where one cell divides into two identical cells.