Book Title: Microcosmology Atom in Jain Philosophy and Modern Science
Author(s): Jethalal S Zaveri, Mahendramuni
Publisher: Jain Vishva Bharati
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54
Microcosmology : Atom
other hand, nuclear energy involves vital changes in the atomic nucleus itself, with a consequent loss of as high as one tenth to nearly eight-tenths of one percent in the original mass of the nucleus. This means that from one to nearly eight grams per thousand grams are liberated in the form of energy, as compared with only one gram in three billion grams liberated in the burning of coal. In other words, the amount of nuclear energy liberated in the transmutation of atomic nuclei is from 30,00,000 to 2,40,00,000 times as great as the chemical energy released by the burning of an equal amount of coal. Whereas most chemical reactions would take place easily at temperatures of a few hundred degrees, corresponding nuclear transformation would not even start before the temperature reached many million degrees.
Nuclear energy can be liberated by two diametrically opposite methods. One is fission---the splitting of the nuclei of the
hemical elements into two uneven fragments consisting of nuclei of two lighter elements. The other is fusion-combining or fusing two nuclei of the lightest elements into one nucleus of a heavier element. In both methods the resulting elements are lighter than the original nuclei. The loss of mass in each case manifests itself in the release of enormous amounts of nuclear energy.
At the turn of the century, Bacquere's discovery of radioactivity indicated that a break-up process of nucleus can really take place. Atoms of heaviest element uranium (and thorium) spontaneously emitted highly penetrating radiations (similar to Xrays). This process of slow spontaneous decay of the so-called radio-active elements consists in emitting a small segment of its nucleus known as 'alpha particles and internal electric adjustment followed by emission of two electrons. A series of emission continues until we come finally to the nucleus of the lead atom.
Theoretically speaking all elements heavier than silver are radio-active and subject to the process of decay. But the spontaneous decay is so slow--say one or two atoms in a gram of gold or mercury in many centuries compared to several thousand per second per gram in uranium--that the most sensitive physical instrument cannot record it.
