fission

fission

View The Full Image


fis·sion    Audio Help   (fĭsh'ən)   

n.  
  1. The act or process of splitting into parts.

  2. A nuclear reaction in which an atomic nucleus, especially a heavy nucleus such as an isotope of uranium, splits into fragments, usually two fragments of comparable mass, releasing from 100 million to several hundred million electron volts of energy.

  3. Biology An asexual reproductive process in which a unicellular organism divides into two or more independently maturing daughter cells.

v.   fis·sioned, fis·sion·ing, fis·sions

v.   tr.
To cause (an atom) to undergo fission.
v.   intr.
To undergo fission.

[Latin fissiō, fissiōn-, a cleaving, from fissus, split; see fissi-.]
(Download Now or Buy the Book)
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.