... The nuclear forces act mainly between each proton (or neutron) and its nearest neighbor, while the electrical forces act over larger distances, giving a repulsion between each proton and all the others in the nucleus. The more protons in a nucleus, the stronger is the electrical repulsion, until, as in the case of uranium, the balance is so delicate that the nucleus is almost ready to fly apart from the repulsive electrical force. If such a nucleus is just "tapped" lightly (as can be done be sending in a slow neutron), it breaks into two pieces, each with positive charge, and these pieces fly apart by electrical repulsion. The energy which is liberated is the energy of the atomic bomb. This energy is usually called "nuclear" energy, but is really "electrical" energy released when electrical forces have overcome the attractive nuclear forces.
What text is this, and by whom?? It sounds like "science for high school sophomores". Sorry, but it is NOT the electrical energy that provides the velocity, but the mass difference. Anyone who says otherwise is simply wrong.