Talk:Spontaneous fission
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I modified the spontaneous fission rates reported, some of which weren't quite right, based on the data on half-lives and branching ratios provided by Brookhaven National Laboratory in their handy-dandy chart of the nuclides (http://www.nndc.bnl.gov/chart/). I also modified the statement that spontaneous fission can't provide the flux needed for a chain reaction, since, if a critical mass is present, it is possible for an INITIAL spontaneous fission to provide the neutrons to initiate a chain reaction.
The question about a code error below seems already to have been resolved before I got here; I fixed the other question below (explaining what Z and A are, and pointing out that it is possible to have spontaneous fission if Z^2/A>45 and not just if it is approximately equal). ---
Is there a code error? The following appears: \hbox{Z}^2/\hbox{A}\approx45. when a simple number or item or something would be expected. I'm not sure what exactly should be here, or how it should be coded, though.
[edit] Mathematical criterion
It would be nice to explain what Z and what A means in the equation (I guess A is atomic mass and Z is number of protons but I'm not sure). Additionaly it seems to me that if Z^2/A is greater than 45 then spontaneous fission can occur (but again it is my guess).
[edit] Mathematical criterion
It is interesting to note the formula Z2/A ≥ 45, as for Uranium, this doesn't work. Take U-238, which undergoes spontaneous fission. 922 = 8464. Divided by 238, this gives 35.6, which doesn't stack up.
[edit] Rates of spontaneous fission
I have put a citation needed tag in this section because the number for U-235 disagrees with what I have read elsewhere (althought I don't have all that much faith in other sources). It would be nice to have a reliable source. Man with two legs 09:54, 16 October 2006 (UTC)
