Some Effects of Charge Polarization in Nuclear Fission

Abstract

It is shown that asymmetric mass division is to be expected in fission of a charged liquid drop if the charge is allowed to move freely between incipient fragments under the influence of the Coulomb field. For a nuclear fluid, forces which inhibit and which favor charge polarization are discussed. Parallels are drawn between the qualitative features of the polarizable liquid drop and fissioning nuclei.