Question

Nuclear fission can be explained on the basis of Einstein’s :
A. Theory of relativity
B. Specific heat equation
C. Mass-energy relation
D. Photoelectric equation

Answer 1

Hint: The process of splitting of a nucleus into nuclei of smaller mass in order to attain stability is called nuclear fission. Some mass of the nucleus undergoing fission converts into the binding energy. Read about the given options and figure out which one relates to the nuclear fission.

Complete step-by-step solution:
Let us first understand what nuclear fission is.
We all know what the nucleus is. A nucleus is the positive part of an atom. It consists of protons and neutrons. The protons are positively charged with a magnitude equal to the magnitude of the charge on an electron.
Most of the nuclei of larger mass have very high energy. Hence, to stabilize the energy, the nucleus splits into nuclei of smaller mass with the liberation of some energy. The process of splitting of a nucleus into nuclei of smaller mass in order to attain stability is called nuclear fission. The energy liberated in the process is called the binding energy.
It is found that the initial total mass of the system is more than the final mass of the system. This can be explained by Einstein’s mass-energy relation, which says that mass can be converted into energy. Hence, it is said that mass is equivalent to energy.
Now we can understand that some mass of the nucleus undergoing fission converts into the binding energy.
Therefore, nuclear fission can be explained by Einstein’s mass-energy relation.
Hence, the correct option is C.

Note: Let us discuss the other options.
(i) Einstein’s theory of relativity tells us about how space and time are related to each other. According to this theory, time is different for objects moving at different speeds.
(ii) Specific heat equations deal with the specific heats of the objects.
(iii) Photoelectric effect is the production of electricity with the help of light. The photoelectric equation is the equation that gives us the relation between the kinetic energy of the electrons and the frequency of light.