What type of particle collides with an atom of u-235 during the basic nuclear fission process?
a proton
an electron
a nuclei
a neutron
The example above illustrates the basic nuclear fission process. A neutron (generally produced by some controlled process, not usually a natural event) collides with an atom of U-235. Momentarily, a U-236 atom forms which then splits into two smaller atoms (Kr-93 and Ba-141) in the diagram. This process results in the release of three new neutrons, which can then initiate fission reactions with more atoms. We will see later how this propagation of neutrons can be employed in a reactor for the generation of electricity.