Why does splitting an atom create energy? And why is it so much energy?
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The mass of the starting atom is more than the mass of the resulting atoms. The missing mass is released as energy. We know from Einstiens famous equation that
> energy = mass x c^2
c is already quite a large number (3×10^8) so c^2 is much larger, 9×10^16. Loosing a small amount of mass creates a large amount of energy.
Finally, I’ll point out that this works the other way round with small atoms, if you take 2 small atoms and manage to stick them together, you’ll also lose mass and release energy. The changeover point happens at iron.
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