THE EFFECT OF ELASTIC PROPERTIES OF NUCLEAR-MATTER ON NUCLEAR-FISSION

Spheroidal nuclear vibrations are considered using a macroscopic model based on the assumption that nuclear matter possesses the properties of elastic medium. Emphasis is laid on the analysis of instability of the quadrupole configuration. It is presumed that the onset of this in stability is associated with the commencement of fission. The proposed fluid-dynamics model predicts the values of the parameters of nuclear fission that differ somewhat from the values given by the standard li quid drop-model. In particular, the obtained critical ratio Z2/A, whic h characterizes the loss of stability of the quadrupole mode, is equal to 35. It follows from this estimate that fission induced by an exter nal perturbation should be expected for nuclei (from the beta-stabilit y valley) with A greater-than-or-equal-to 230.