Summary
nuclei stay together in spite of the electromagnetic repulsion between protons because of a nuclear force.
the strong interaction between nucleons has a very short range and is independent of charge
accelerated particles from radioactive decay are used as probes to study the structure of stable nuclei
the average binding energy per nucleon varies for the stable nuclei.
(this can be used to produce nuclear energy). Combining light nuclei or splitting heavier nuclei releases energy.
bombarding uranium with neutrons splits the uranium nuclei, releasing large amount of energy and extra neutrons. A single reaction emits two or three neutrons which can trigger additional fission reactions.
Nuclear reactors are using fission chain reactions under critical