The increase in a nucleus's collective deformation potential energy between a local minimum and a saddle on a path toward separated fragments. A positive final-state Q value does not remove this intermediate barrier. A nucleus can cross it after sufficient excitation energy, or undergo quantum tunnelling. The relevant barrier for neutron-induced fission belongs to the compound nucleus formed after capture, not automatically to the target before capture.
Articles by others on the same topic
The fission barrier refers to the energy barrier that must be overcome for a nucleus to undergo nuclear fission. In the context of nuclear physics, fission occurs when a heavy nucleus splits into two or more lighter nuclei, accompanied by the release of energy, usually in the form of kinetic energy of the fission fragments and neutrons. The fission barrier can be conceptualized in terms of potential energy.