{"schema":"https://ver.cy/schemas/card/1.0.0","id":"vr.tr.nuclear-fission","code":"thing-q11429","url":"https://ver.cy/models/thing/q11429/","name":"nuclear fission","alternateNames":["spontaneous fission","photofission","Ternary fission","fast fission"],"kind":"thing","status":"published","version":"0.2.0-wave.2","language":"en","classifiers":{"family":"Thing Registry","category":"Activities and processes","entryKind":"thing","plane":"ACT","domain":["ACT.PRC"],"industry":[],"navPath":"","tags":[],"facets":{}},"whatItIs":"A nuclear reaction in which a heavy atomic nucleus splits into lighter nuclei, releasing energy, neutrons and radiation, occurring spontaneously in some isotopes and induced by neutron absorption or photons in others, with variants such as fast, ternary and photofission; fission powers nuclear reactors and is described here as physics, energy and history, without design or weapons detail.","purpose":"Let an agent explain nuclear fission as physics, describe its use in reactors and its history with attribution, address safety and waste questions, and decline weapons or reactor design detail.","scope":{"in":[],"out":[],"boundaries":[]},"distinguishingFeatures":["Nuclear reaction","Chain reaction possible","Energy source","Dual-use sensitivity"],"structure":{"bundles":[{"id":"boundaries","name":"Boundaries","description":"What can be discussed.","layers":[{"id":"scope","name":"Scope","description":"Scope of information.","findings":[{"id":"scope-finding","name":"Scope","description":"Scope.","questions":[{"text":"Is the request seeking weapons, enrichment or reactor design detail, which must be declined?","kind":"boundary"},{"text":"Which physics, history and policy information can be provided instead?","kind":"action"}]}]},{"id":"safeguards","name":"Safeguards","description":"Safeguards and treaties.","findings":[{"id":"safeguards-finding","name":"Safeguards","description":"Safeguards.","questions":[{"text":"How do safeguards and non-proliferation treaties govern fissile material?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which agencies oversee them?","kind":"provenance"}]}]}]},{"id":"physics","name":"Physics","description":"How fission works.","layers":[{"id":"mechanism","name":"Mechanism","description":"The reaction.","findings":[{"id":"mechanism-finding","name":"Mechanism","description":"Mechanism.","questions":[{"text":"How does a heavy nucleus split, why is energy released, and what are spontaneous, induced, fast, ternary and photofission?","kind":"definition"},{"text":"What is a chain reaction, in conceptual terms?","kind":"definition"}]}]},{"id":"products","name":"Products","description":"Fission products.","findings":[{"id":"products-finding","name":"Products","description":"Products.","questions":[{"text":"What fission products and radiation are produced, and how do they decay?","kind":"definition"},{"text":"How are they measured?","kind":"provenance"}]}]}]},{"id":"energy","name":"Energy","description":"Fission for power.","layers":[{"id":"reactors","name":"Reactors","description":"Reactors in general.","findings":[{"id":"reactors-finding","name":"Reactors","description":"Reactors.","questions":[{"text":"How do nuclear reactors use fission to generate electricity, in general terms?","kind":"definition"},{"text":"What are the documented safety records and accidents?","kind":"provenance"}]}]},{"id":"waste","name":"Waste","description":"Waste and policy.","findings":[{"id":"waste-finding","name":"Waste","description":"Waste.","questions":[{"text":"How is radioactive waste managed, and what are the attributed positions in debates on nuclear power?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Is the presentation neutral?","kind":"boundary"}]}]}]},{"id":"history","name":"History","description":"Discovery and teaching.","layers":[{"id":"discovery","name":"Discovery","description":"Discovery of fission.","findings":[{"id":"discovery-finding","name":"Discovery","description":"Discovery.","questions":[{"text":"How was fission discovered, and who contributed, according to historians?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"How did it shape the twentieth century?","kind":"provenance"}]}]},{"id":"teach","name":"Teach","description":"Teaching.","findings":[{"id":"teach-finding","name":"Teach","description":"Teaching.","questions":[{"text":"How can fission be taught at school and university level?","kind":"action"},{"text":"Which misconceptions arise?","kind":"provenance"}]}]}]}]},"agentConduct":{"may":["Explain fission physics, its history and its role in energy at an educational level.","Report public data from regulators on reactors and radiation."],"mustNot":["Assist in designing, building or obtaining a nuclear weapon or device.","Help anyone acquire fissile material or evade safeguards.","Downplay radiation risks or spread false alarms about them.","Operate or alter controls of a nuclear facility."],"requiresHuman":["Any action in a nuclear facility or involving radioactive material."]},"ethics":{"considerations":["Fission powers low-carbon energy but also weapons capable of mass killing.","Accidents and waste affect people and land for generations."],"affectedParties":["People near nuclear facilities","Future generations","Workers in the nuclear industry"]},"owners":{"steward":"Nobody owns the phenomenon; national nuclear regulators and international safeguards govern its use.","roles":[],"masterSystems":[]},"relations":[{"target":"Q238323","type":"parent","note":"registry parent class"},{"target":"Q3182649","type":"parent","note":"registry parent class"},{"target":"nuclear reaction","type":"related","note":"category"},{"target":"lead","type":"related","note":"end products and shielding"},{"target":"lanthanide","type":"related","note":"fission products"},{"target":"scientific theory","type":"related","note":"nuclear physics theory"}],"interaction":{"identity":{"applicability":"required","items":["Vercy registry: vr.tr.nuclear-fission","Wikidata: Q11429 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q11429)"]},"properties":{"applicability":"not-applicable","items":[]},"recognition":{"applicability":"optional","items":["Heavy nucleus splits","Releases neutrons and energy","Fusion joins light nuclei","Not visible; observed through radiation and energy release."]},"capabilities":{"applicability":"required","items":["explain the physics of fission","describe reactor use in general terms","address safety, waste and history","refuse weapons or design detail"]},"hazards":{"applicability":"required","items":["Agents providing weapons or reactor design detail","Reactor accidents","Radioactive waste"]},"interfaces":{"applicability":"required","items":["Nuclear safety and safeguards regulation","Non-proliferation treaties","Radiation protection standards"]},"context":{"applicability":"required","items":["Splitting heavy nuclei to release energy.","spontaneous fission","neutron-induced thermal and fast fission","photofission","ternary fission","fission in reactors and natural reactors"]}},"sources":[{"title":"Wikidata item Q11429: nuclear fission","url":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q11429","note":"identity and sense of the item"},{"title":"Wikipedia: Nuclear fission","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_fission","note":"general description of the item"}],"openQuestions":["Should nuclear power be a separate entry?","How should regulators be linked?","How should the dual-use boundary be enforced?"],"resources":{"spec":"/models/things/publications/thing-q11429/spec.json"},"provenance":{"origin":"thing registry research (pass 2)","builtFrom":["models/things/publications/thing-q11429/spec.json"],"providers":["Claude"],"researchStatus":"unreviewed","generatedAt":"2026-09-11T21:59:31Z","builder":"tools/build_cards.py@1.0.0"},"completeness":{"sections":{"classifiers":"filled","whatItIs":"filled","purpose":"filled","distinguishingFeatures":"filled","structure":"filled","agentConduct":"filled","ethics":"filled","owners":"filled","relations":"filled","interaction.identity":"filled","interaction.properties":"not-applicable","interaction.recognition":"filled","interaction.capabilities":"filled","interaction.hazards":"filled","interaction.interfaces":"filled","interaction.context":"filled","sources":"filled"},"notes":{"_gate":"Published through the thing publication gate 1.0 on 2026-10-06T19:51:53+00:00: completeness 1.00; sense: Wikidata description; 2 live sources; review by codex: pass","interaction.properties":"Plane ACT: no invented physical properties."},"score":1.0}}