The most common application for spontaneous fission is as neutron source for further use. These neutrons may be used for applications such as neutron imaging, or may drive additional nuclear reactions, including initiating induced fission of a target as is common in nuclear reactors and nuclear weapons.
In crystals containing high proportions of uranium, fission products generated via spontaneous fission produce damage trails as the fragments recoil through the crystal structure. The number of trails, or fission tracks, may be used to estimate the age of a sample via fission track dating.