Nuclear Fission: A Detailed Analysis of the Discovery and ApplicationsNuclear fission, "a nuclear reaction in which a heavy nucleus divides spontaneously or upon impact with a other particle, with the release of energy” as defined by the dictionary. Nuclear fission played an important role in World War II. After the United States was antagonized by the Japanese, the United States began to implement nuclear fission in its armaments. These weapons of mass destruction represented a new milestone in the wars. It shocked the world and quickly ended the war. The atomic bomb quickly ended the war and caused fewer deaths among the Allies of the war and to prevent it from dragging on further. After the war, however, many other practical applications of nuclear fission were used to improve society. Nuclear fission was a great discovery and caused a turning point in the war. It all started with the Manhattan Project in Los Alamos, New Mexico. This is where scientists from the United States and some other allied countries began working on the atomic bomb. The atomic bomb uses nuclear fission to provide its explosive properties. Nuclear fission can be described as either a nuclear reaction or a radioactive decay process. In this process the nucleus of a particle divides into smaller parts known as lighter nuclei. This fission process often produces additional neutrons and photons that are emitted as gamma rays. These gamma rays release a large amount of energy that falls within the lines of the energy standards that define radioactive decay. (Bohr). The whole idea of ​​“nuclear fission” started with Neils Bohr and John A. Wheeler. They examined this concept in “The Mechanism of Nuclear Fission”; in which... halfway through the document... its discovery by Bohr in 1939. These weapons of mass destruction marked a new chapter in warfare and added a new fear factor when going to war. The atomic bomb quickly ended the war and caused fewer Allied deaths. In addition to the warfare aspects of nuclear fission, it has many applications in the energy field. Nuclear power plants, for example, were just one of the ways nuclear fission was used to improve society. Brian and Lamb put a good perspective on nuclear power plants: "Nuclear power plants stand at the border between humanity's greatest hopes and its deepest fears for the future." (Brian and Lamb). The fission process was also observed on earth billions of years ago. Overall, nuclear fission has had a great impact on the world and has had many other practical applications that have been used to improve society as a whole..