system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: Why does splitting an atom release so much energy?
gpt
Because the potential energy keeping an atom together is so strong. A loose metaphor would be to compare it to an avalanche. There's a bunch of snow, sitting quietly, not doing too much. Give it the right kick, and suddenly a huge powerful force is raging down the mountain, triggering the snow below it to start falling as well, building and building. A fission reaction is kind of similar, but with nuclear forces instead of gravitational ones.