why splitting uranium releases energy but we haven’t see any stray (random) nuclear explosion in natural ore deposits?

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And if splitting atom releases energy, why haven’t these energy break from their atom themselves? Isn’t that means the force that bind the atoms are bigger than the energy released?

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Anonymous 0 Comments

Our universe seeks stable energy states. Think of it like a jagged mountain. If you fall off the mountain you’re not going to tumble all the way down to the base. You’re just going to roll to the next ridge or shelf. The same happens with nuclear decay. Once the radioactive atom has released its extra particles it becomes more stable and hard to break apart. That happens again and again, each atom in the “decay chain” becoming more stable than the last.

So the atom doesn’t just blow apart when it decays. It releases just the right amount of radiation to reach it’s next most stable possiblity, no more no less.

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