fission

fission /fish″ən/ [L, fissio, splitting] , 1. the act or process of splitting or breaking up into two or more parts. 2. a type of asexual reproduction common in bacteria, protozoa, and other simpler forms of life in which the cell divides into two or more equal components, each of which eventually develops into a complete organism. Kinds include binary fission, multiple fission. 3. (in physics) the splitting of the nucleus of an atom and subsequent release of energy. Also called nuclear fission.