Fusion

Fusion is the basic process of our environment that gives power to the sun and the stars. When the two atoms combine they give energy. The fusion reaction takes place in very high heat which is in the range of 100million degrees

Fusion can be applied to many atoms, in the periodic table the researchers are interested in deuterium and titanium because this reaction emits much more energy than any other reaction.  

Nuclear fusion 

When the two atoms of deuterium or the titanium combine in the presence of heavy heat a helium atom and neutron are emitted. The combined atom has less mass than the two atoms; the remaining mass is converted into the energy which is being emitted.

A nuclear fusion reaction is just opposite to the nuclear fission reaction where the single atoms are broken down into two atoms where the two atoms combine to form one atom.

Nuclear fusion in space

The major source of energy of the earth is the sun. Since the Sun is a small star and there are many more stars that produce greater energy than the sun. The main source of energy of all the stars is nuclear fusion.

The stars are made up of hydrogen and helium and they are so tightly packed that the center of the star has that much energy that can start a fusion reaction. In the nuclear fusion reaction, the two nuclei combine to form a new atom. In most cases, the two hydrogen atoms combine to form helium nuclei. The nuclear fusion reaction needs a great amount of energy to start but once they start they emit a very great amount of energy.

Types of Nuclear fusion reaction

2/1 H + 2/1 H 3/2 He + 1/0 n + 3.27 MeV

Deuterium-deuterium fusion reaction

2/1 H + 2/1 H 3/1 He + 1/1 H + 4.03 MeV

Although this technology is theoretically more interesting than deuterium-tritium because of the simplicity with which the two deuterium atoms may be obtained, it is also more difficult to implement because it demands temperatures that are currently too high to be practicable. The technique, however, produces more energy than deuterium-tritium fusion.

Deuterium-tritium fusion reaction

2/1 H + 3/1 H 4/2 He + 1/0 n + 17.59 MeV

The fusion of a deuterium atom with a tritium atom is the most promising combination for power on Earth today. The process creates 17.6 million electron volts of energy at temperatures of around 72 million degrees Fahrenheit (39 million degrees Celsius). Since it is an isotope of hydrogen with a single number of protons and neutrons but no electron, deuterium is a promising constituent. Hydrogen, in turn, is an important component of the water that covers the Earth. The energy produced by a barrel of seawater (3.8 liters) is equivalent to 300 gallons (1,136 liters) of gasoline. Tritium is a hydrogen isotope with one proton and 2 neutrons. Because of its 10-year half-life, it’s more difficult to find in big quantities (half of the quantity decays every decade). Rather than trying to discover it naturally, the most dependable technique is to produce it by bombarding lithium, an element found in the Earth’s crust, with neutrons.

Application

The main application of nuclear fusion is electricity generation. The nuclear fusion reaction can be used to create clean energy for the future and it has many advantages over the nuclear fission reaction.

Readily available

The deuterium can be extracted from the seawater and the titanium can be made itself in the fusion reactor from lithium.

Clean

Fusion reaction needs less fuel than the nuclear fission reaction, and there is no air pollution infusion reaction because there is no combustion.

Less risky

As the amount of fuel used in the reactor is less so the energy released is also controlled. And most of the fusion-emitting reactors emit less radiation than we live with, in our day-to-day life.

Creating energy

There are a variety of designs for creating fusion energy, each of which relies on various atomic combinations. This energy helps in producing much electrical and other energy.

Less nuclear waste

The fusion reactors will produce less amount of nuclear waste as compared to the nuclear fission reaction that makes disposal a less problem. And also the waste will not be weapon-based waste in case of fission.

Why Is It So Difficult to Achieve

The nuclear fusion reaction is difficult to achieve because to start a nuclear reaction there is a need for a tremendous amount of energy. The amount of energy released in the case of nuclear fusion is four times the energy released in nuclear fission. And the fusion reaction can be the basis of the future power demand.

To fuse on our sun, nuclei must contact at extremely high temperatures (more than 10 million degrees Celsius) to overcome mutual electrical repulsion and this phenomenon needs a lot of energy.

NASA is working on nuclear fusion-based reactors which can help in the power generation of rockets.

Conclusion

Nuclear fusion is a matter of research because of its advantages and the nuclear fusion reaction can be seen in everyday life. Stars, sun everywhere nuclear fusion takes place. Nuclear fusion is the future of energy generation because the amount of energy released in nuclear fusion is very high as compared to nuclear fission.

The safe use and easily available elements for the reaction also make the reaction useful. However, the only disadvantage comes from the high amount of energy that is being used to start the reaction.