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When a single heavy nucleus splits into two or more lighter nuclei (fission), the sum of their masses is less than the mass of the original nucleus. Some mass is missing, and some energy is released. When two light nuclei fuse into a single heavier nucleus (fusion), the mass of the heavier one is less than the sum of the masses of the two light ones. Some mass is missing, and some energy is released. In both events, the missing mass has been converted to energy. If the amount of missing mass is 'm', and you multiply 'm' by the square of the speed of light 'c2' , the answer you get is the amount of energy that was released 'e'. e = mc2

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15y ago

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