Introduction

This chapter briefly introduces open-quotes The Nuclear Fission Processclose quotes. An historical note on the discovery of the nuclear fission phenomenon is given. Highlights in recent fission research are reviewed. Finally, the structure of the book is outlined. Initially treated are the characteristics of the fission barrier and the various processes leading to fission. Then the characteristics of the various fission reaction products are examined. After a detailed review of the theoretical models of mass distributions, the corresponding experimental results are discussed. Fission fragment energy, charge, angular momentum, and angular distribution are reviewed. Chapters are devoted to neutron and gamma emission in fission and to the ternary fission phenomenon. Each chapter is followed by an ample and up-to-date reference list. 44 refs., 1 fig