A nuclear reaction in which a heavy nucleus (such as uranium) splits into two parts (fission products), which subsequently emit either two or three neutrons, releasing a quantity of energy equivalent to the difference between the rest mass of the neutrons and the fission products and that of the original nucleus. Fission may occur without external influence (spontaneous fission) or as a result of irradiation by neutrons (induced fission). For example, the fission of a uranium–235 nucleus by a slow neutron may proceed thus:
The energy released is approximately 3×10−11 J per 235U nucleus. For 1 kg of 235U this is equivalent to 20 000 megawatt-hours—the amount of energy produced by the combustion of 3×106 tonnes of coal. Nuclear fission is the process used in nuclear reactors and atom bombs (see nuclear weapons).
https://www.nature.com/physics/looking-back/meitner/index.html Meitner and Frisch’s original paper (1939) in Nature on induced fission