Fission vs. Fragmentation — What's the Difference?

The act or process of splitting into parts.

The act or process of breaking into fragments.

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 but unequal mass along with a few neutrons, releasing energy in the order of magnitude of 100 million electron volts. Nuclear fission may occur spontaneously or may be induced by the absorption of a neutron, which can initiate a nuclear chain reaction.

The scattering of the fragments of an exploding bomb or other projectile.

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

(Computers) The scattering of parts of a file or files throughout a storage device, as when the operating system breaks up the file and fits it into the spaces left vacant by previously deleted files.

To cause (an atom) to undergo fission.

The act of fragmenting or something fragmented; disintegration.

To undergo fission.

The process by which fragments of an exploding bomb scatter.

The process whereby one item splits to become two.

(computing) The breaking up and dispersal of a file into non-contiguous areas of a disk.

(nuclear physics) nodot=a: The process of splitting the nucleus of an atom into smaller particles.

(computing) The breaking up of a data packet when larger than the transmission unit of a network.

(biology) The process by which a bacterium splits to form two daughter cells.

The act or process of separating something into small pieces or fine particles.

(transitive) To cause to undergo fission.

Separating something into fine particles

(intransitive) To undergo fission.

The disintegration of social norms governing behavior and thought and social relationships

A cleaving, splitting, or breaking up into parts.

(computer science) the condition of a file that is broken up and stored in many different locations on a magnetic disk;

A method of asexual reproduction among the lowest (unicellular) organisms by means of a process of self-division, consisting of gradual division or cleavage of the into two parts, each of which then becomes a separate and independent organisms; as when a cell in an animal or plant, or its germ, undergoes a spontaneous division, and the parts again subdivide. See Segmentation, and Cell division, under Division.

The scattering of bomb fragments after the bomb explodes

A process by which certain coral polyps, echinoderms, annelids, etc., spontaneously subdivide, each individual thus forming two or more new ones. See Strobilation.

The act or process of disintegration of an atomic nucleus into two or more smaller pieces; called also nuclear fission. The process may be spontaneous or induced by capture of neutrons or other smaller nuclei, and usually proceeds with evolution of energy.

A nuclear reaction in which a massive nucleus splits into smaller nuclei with the simultaneous release of energy

Reproduction of some unicellular organisms by division of the cell into two more or less equal parts