Nuclear Fusion - Some Typical Fusion Reactions, Naturally Occurring Fusion Reactions, Thermonuclear Reactions, Fusion Reactions On Earth
mass nucleus neutron proton
Nuclear fusion is the process by which two light atomic nuclei combine to form one heavier atomic nucleus. As an example, a proton (the nucleus of a hydrogen atom) and a neutron will, under the proper circumstances, combine to form a deuteron (the nucleus of an atom of "heavy hydrogen"). In general, the mass of the heavier product nucleus is less than the total mass of the two lighter nuclei.
When a proton and neutron combine, for example, the mass of the resulting deuteron is 0.00239 atomic mass unit less than the total mass of the proton and neutron combined. This "loss" of mass is expressed in the form of 2.23 MeV (million electron volts) of kinetic energy of the deuteron and other particles and as other forms of energy produced during the reaction. Nuclear fusion reactions are like nuclear fission reactions, therefore, in the respect that some quantity of mass is transformed into energy.
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As early as the 1930s, a number of physicists had considered the possibility that nuclear fusion reactions might be the mechanism by which energy is generated in the stars. Certainly no familiar type of chemical reaction, such as oxidation, could possibly explain the vast amounts of energy released by even the smallest star. In 1939, the German-American physicist Hans Bethe worked out the mathemat…
Scientists who worked on the first fission (atomic) bomb during World War II were aware of the potential for building an even more powerful bomb that operated on fusion principles. Here is how it would work.
The JET (Joint European Torus) nucelar fusion reactor. Photo Researchers, Inc. Reproduced by permission.
The core of the fusion bomb would consist of a fission bomb, such as the one the…
As research on fusion weapons was going on, attempts were also being made to develop peaceful uses for nuclear fusion. The concept of a "star" power plant just outside the city was never out of sight for a number of nuclear scientists. The problems to be solved in controlling the nuclear fusion reaction have, however, been enormous. The most obvious challenge is simply to find a way …
A second method for creating controlled nuclear fusion makes use of a laser beam or a beam of electrons or atoms. In this approach, hydrogen isotopes are suspended at the middle of the machine in tiny hollow glass spheres known as microballoons. The microballoons are then bombarded by the laser, electron, or atomic beam and caused to implode. During implosion, enough energy is produced to initiate…
The scientific world was stunned in March of 1989 when two electrochemists, Stanley Pons and Martin Fleischmann, reported that they had obtained evidence for the occurrence of nuclear fusion at room temperatures. During the electrolysis of heavy water (deuterium oxide), it appeared that the fusion of deuterons was made possible by the presence of palladium electrodes used in the reaction. If such …
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