Fusion: The Energy of the Future? Essay examples

Process of nuclear fusion release enormous about of energy It is a nuclear reaction where two atoms collide at a very high speed and join two crate a new type of atom .It needs two atomic nuclei to make a large nucleus it needs energy to make this happen though. Things that use this reaction are the sun and the stars to release energy.

To create a nuclear bomb, nuclear fission must occur. The process of nuclear fission was splitting the nucleus of an atom. Splitting an atom was caused by neutrons firing through one atom and then that atom’s neutrons shoot off into other atoms, starting a chain reaction. In October of 1934, Enrico Fermi, and

In the modern world, nuclear fission is the fundamental process of a nuclear bomb and nuclear reactor. The reaction produces a chain reaction of atom splitting that produces 24,000,000 kilowatts per hour of energy. On the other hand, nuclear fusion is a reaction where two or more nuclei come close enough to one another to create one or more atomic nuclei and subatomic nuclei. As a result, this reaction produces a massive amount of energy; fusion reaction is the energy source of the sun, the energy produced by fusion is the answer to why the sun is hot.

Fusion also aids the formation of geographical features for example volcanoes, geysers, hot springs. This is can be seen during formation of volcanoes, there is the fusion of particles in the core of the earth due to strong compressional forces pushing particles toward each other; this generates heat that melts the core forcing lava to surface hence forming

“Today’s start-ups are trying to perfect some of the ideas that the government left by the wayside” (Grandoni, Dino). “Produced when two atoms fuse into one, fusion energy could satisfy huge chunks of future demand” (Parfit, Micheal). “This process is not a simple one, but one that requires a series of changes” (Nuclear fusion). “Temperature of a few millions of degrees Celsius are common in the center of stars, so nuclear fusion can easily be imagined there” (Nuclear fusion). “Nuclear fusion is the process commonly found in nature that occurs when two or more atomic nuclei fuse, or come together, to form a single and heavier nucleus” (Nuclear fusion). “Since Bethe’s original research, scientists have discovered other fusion reactions, like the hydrogen bomb” (Nuclear fusion). “Fusion, it is always twenty years into the future” (Nuclear

These issues combine to place an unfavorable light on the potential of nuclear power. Nuclear fission, however, is not the only source of nuclear power. Nuclear fusion is another method which offers the potential to combat some of the ailments of nuclear fission in addition to providing long lasting power. Nuclear fusion offers several benefits to energy industry. Among the benefits of fusion power is that fusion fuel is readily available, power produced is reliable, has a low environmental impact, does not produce fissile materials, and carries the same terror risk as conventional fossil fuel plants [6]. To understand why some of these benefits are true, an understanding of the science behind nuclear fusion is necessary.To start, nuclear reactions involve the protons and neutrons contained in the nucleus of an atom. This is different from how chemical reactions, like the burning of fossil fuels, involve the electrons of an atom. In nuclear fission reactions, heavier elements are torn apart. The resulting products are more stable than the reactant, and energy is

Even though nuclear fusion and nuclear fission sound alike, they’re very different from each other. Nuclear fusion is when two or more nuclei combine to making a new element with a higher atomic number, and nuclear fission is the act of splitting a large atom into two or more smaller, lighter atoms. Nuclear fission releases heat energy by splitting the atoms, and nuclear fusion makes heat energy by taking smaller atoms and combining them together to make a bigger one. Nuclear fission usually doesn’t occur in nature, and is mostly used in nuclear power plants and stuff like that, while nuclear fusion occurs in nature all the time; such as stars and the sun. Nuclear fusion is basically electricity that we use in our everyday lives. Nuclear

In nuclear fusion, two light nuclei consolidate to create a vast amount of energy, but in nuclear fission, a heavy, unstable nucleus splits into two lighter nuclei (Duke Energy). For example, shown above in the balanced nuclear equation, two hydrogen nuclei combine to create one helium nucleus and in the balanced nuclear fission equation, Li6+n splits into two lighter nuclei, He4+H3.

Many obstacles limit the adoption of nuclear fusion to include education, resources and the process itself.

Fission is the splitting of a heavy, unstable nucleus into two lighter nuclei. Fission is one of the world’s fastest growing gifts and disasters. Fusion takes place by the heavy atomic molecule moving in place to split into two nuclei that releases a large amount of heat and energy but also releases a lot of nuclear radiation. Fission is usually used to concentrate low energy to round up to higher energy. Fission is tracked through a certain mineral that forms as a crystal to give the crystal fission. One of the most commonly used minerals to produce fission is 92 Uranium. In 1938, the discovery of fission was discovered by a German physicist named Lise Meitner. She was able to track down the discovery when a certain level of radiation was measured on a crystalized structure of a 92 Uranium rock. Along with other Gereman physicists, they were able to run many different tests and sources with the rock. They discovered fusion when a target of 92 Uranium was bombarded by neutrons. After the neutrons were bombarded fission fragments were shown to be shooting out rapidly at the speed of light. The physicists then discovered that fission gave off large amounts of energy that sent a natural heat wave expand on the energy that spread radiation. The fission reaction was then being studied by people all around the world. The studying went deep enough to develop the first atomic bomb that the United States used in WWII. After the war a lot of time and money was put

Nuclear fusion is an atomic reaction where atoms combine to form a bigger atom with less mass. The most common nuclear fusion is when hydrogen nuclei forms helium nuclei. This occurs in stars that are small such as our sun. When there is low amount in nuclear fuel a star then turns into a red giant as its core grows smaller, denser, and hotter. Our sun will eventually turn into a red giant, theoretically vaporizing Earth. Once the core has nothing to fuse but iron, it will immediately begin the final phase. The temperature in the core rises over 100 billion degrees and then the star explodes. After a supernova, all that’s left of the star is a small, dense core called a neutron star. Also after the explosion, a black hole

When a di-nuclear composite system is formed after the interaction between two heavy nuclei, the fast fission \citep{lebrun_1979}\citep{borderie_1981} is expected to take place, when the angular-momentum-dependent fission barrier $\left( B_f\right)$ drops below the nuclear temperature (T) and becomes extremely small. At this stage the shape of the di-nuclear system may become triaxial. As the fission barrier is extremely small which is close to zero, the composite system is unstable and fission like events take place without full equilibration. This type of reaction process takes place at higher bombarding energies and for systems with larger fissilities for where the fission barrier is

The motivation to overcome this obstacle is the fact that the materials are very easy to obtain. Lithium, the element that cell phone batteries are made from, is a very highly obtainable substance that is found in a larger percentage in the Earth’s crust than lead or Tin, and can be turned into tritium by simple nuclei reactions; deuterium, which is not very common, can be created in an almost limitless supply using the hydrogen in water (Provide). The only major problem, is that to mimic the reaction found in the sun, there needs to be intense heat and enormous amounts of pressure (Provide). Also, like the energy from the sun, the energy from the plant will dissipate and become less and less the further out from the initial reaction it goes, therefore, to get the most out of the energy, the pressure needs to not only condense but contain as well (Planet). The best way to get a confining pressure field is to create a magnetic field. To date, there are several reactors that use a magnetic field to contain the reaction, including the Joint European Torus (JET) and the Mega Amp Spherical Tokamak (MAST) (World). There is currently a project in France called the ITER (International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor), which will open in the 2020s and will be the largest tokamak built and will have 500 megawatts of energy

Scientists have been trying for many years to build nuclear reactors that would allow a sustained fusion reaction to occur. There are several factors that influence a fusion reaction. Since very high kinetic energies are needed for nuclei to fuse, the plasma in which fusion occurs is extremely hot. Temperatures in excess of 100 million degrees celsius are required for the easiest fusion reaction to take place. Plasmas are fluids, and therefore they have no permanent shape and will quickly disperse if not confined. A 100 million degree plasma will vaporise any container in which it is placed, so magnetic fields are used to contain the plasma.

The article that I decided to review was an article about how a research laboratory in California was able to create nuclear fusion by using an incredibly concentrated laser. This is important because we need to find alternative fuels to power our society that doesn’t give off excess amount of pollutants such as carbon emissions or nuclear waste. In the article it mentions that this laser was able to create more power than it used therefore it can be used to generate power. The other process I want to mention as pretext is the nuclear fission of U-235 and U-238. The difference between these two operations is that they operate on the respective particles mentioned above and additionally U-235, which is what we use