| definition |
- A reaction involving a change in an atomic nucleus, such as fission, fusion, neutron capture, or radioactive decay, as distinct from a chemical reaction, which is limited to changes in the electron structure surrounding the nucleus.
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| Abstract from DBPedia | In nuclear physics and nuclear chemistry, a nuclear reaction is a process in which two nuclei, or a nucleus and an external subatomic particle, collide to produce one or more new nuclides. Thus, a nuclear reaction must cause a transformation of at least one nuclide to another. If a nucleus interacts with another nucleus or particle and they then separate without changing the nature of any nuclide, the process is simply referred to as a type of nuclear scattering, rather than a nuclear reaction. In principle, a reaction can involve more than two particles colliding, but because the probability of three or more nuclei to meet at the same time at the same place is much less than for two nuclei, such an event is exceptionally rare (see triple alpha process for an example very close to a three-body nuclear reaction). The term "nuclear reaction" may refer either to a change in a nuclide induced by collision with another particle or to a spontaneous change of a nuclide without collision. Natural nuclear reactions occur in the interaction between cosmic rays and matter, and nuclear reactions can be employed artificially to obtain nuclear energy, at an adjustable rate, on-demand. Nuclear chain reactions in fissionable materials produce induced nuclear fission. Various nuclear fusion reactions of light elements power the energy production of the Sun and stars.原子核物理学における原子核反応（げんしかくはんのう、（英: nuclear reaction）または核反応とは、入射粒子が標的核（原子核）と衝突して生じる現象の総称を言う。大別して、吸収、核分裂、散乱の三つがあるが、その反応過程は多彩で統一的に記述する理論はまだない。 核反応においては、電荷、質量数、全エネルギー、全運動量が保存される。 (Source: http://dbpedia.org/resource/Nuclear_reaction) |
