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Nuclear fusion vs nuclear fission
Fission and fusion both release energy from an atom's tiny core, the nucleus. Fission splits a heavy nucleus, like uranium: a neutron hits it, it breaks apart, and out come heat and more neutrons. Those neutrons split more atoms, a chain reaction that powers nuclear plants today.
Fusion does the reverse: two light nuclei, like hydrogen, join into a heavier one. That's how the Sun shines; on Earth, it takes over a hundred million degrees. Labs have done it, but so far no fusion plant powers the grid. Fission splits, fusion joins. Next: why do cats hate water?
Simplified: nuclear plants split uranium-235, and fusion on Earth uses deuterium and tritium, two kinds of hydrogen. Sources: US Department of Energy (Fission and Fusion: What is the Difference?), IAEA, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (National Ignition Facility) and ITER.
About this film
A 50-second widescreen (16:9) explainer film, made in the Cosmic comic style, published on 3 November 2026.
Fission splits a heavy nucleus, fusion joins light ones: the approved cosmic-comic Short, re-laid out for a 16:9 page.
The style: Cosmic comic. 1960s cosmic comic: halftone dots, heavy blacks, crackling energy.
Scene by scene
- 0:00Hook: Fission and Fusion panels, then the nucleus at the heart of an atom
- 0:05Fission: a neutron hits uranium and it cracks in two
- 0:15Chain reaction, and the power plant it runs
- 0:22Fusion: two hydrogen nuclei join into a heavier one
- 0:30The Sun runs on fusion; on Earth it needs 100 million degrees
- 0:36Labs have done it, but no fusion plant feeds the grid yet
- 0:41Fission splits. Fusion joins.
Transcript
Fission and fusion both release energy from an atom's tiny core, the nucleus. Fission splits a heavy nucleus, like uranium. A neutron hits it, it breaks apart, and out come heat and more neutrons. Those neutrons split more atoms: a chain reaction that powers nuclear plants today. Fusion does the reverse: two light nuclei, like hydrogen, join into a heavier one.
That's how the Sun shines. On Earth, it takes over a hundred million degrees. Labs have done it, but so far no fusion plant powers the grid. Fission splits. Fusion joins. Next: Why do cats hate water? Follow for more, or make your own with explain.film.
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