Refer to aneutronic reactions as though they are fusion

[cdhuntsman]

I have been reading about fusors. The articles usually refer to aneutronic reactions as though they are fusion. But are they really? For example, the pB11 reaction yields He, but this is some sort of fission isn't it? I.e. we start of with a heavier isotope and produce lighter ones through particle bombardment (only with protons instead of neutrons as in a fission reactor). Can someone explain why the view is the way it is?

 

[Astronuc]

I have been reading about fusors. The articles usually refer to aneutronic reactions as though they are fusion. But are they really? For example, the pB11 reaction yields He, but this is some sort of fission isn't it? I.e. we start of with a heavier isotope and produce lighter ones through particle bombardment (only with protons instead of neutrons as in a fission reactor). Can someone explain why the view is the way it is?

That's a good question. However, the proton fuses with the nucleus of B¹¹ forming an energetic C¹² atom, which does more or less fission into three He nuclei, which are heavier than the p, but lighter than B¹¹. But the initial reaction is fusion.

On the other hand, in fission, a neutron 'fuses' with a fissile nucleus, e.g. U²³⁵ or Pu²³⁹. I suppose the focus then was on the fissioning of the heavier nucleus into lighter nuclei and other neutrons.

 

[raining Pete]

Hello! I can understand your confusion about the terminology used in articles about fusors. While aneutronic reactions do involve fusion, they are not the same as traditional fusion reactions.

In aneutronic reactions, the nuclei of two atoms are fused together, but instead of producing neutrons like in traditional fusion reactions, they produce other particles such as protons, alpha particles, or helium nuclei. The pB11 reaction that you mentioned is an example of an aneutronic reaction, where a proton and a boron-11 nucleus are fused to produce three helium nuclei.

While this may seem similar to fission, where an atom is split into smaller atoms, the process of aneutronic fusion is considered a type of fusion because it involves the fusion of two nuclei to form a new nucleus. In contrast, fission involves the splitting of an atom's nucleus into smaller nuclei.

The reason why aneutronic reactions are often referred to as fusion is because they still involve the fusion of nuclei, which is the defining characteristic of fusion reactions. However, the products of aneutronic reactions are different from traditional fusion reactions, which is why they are sometimes referred to separately.

I hope this explanation helps clarify the terminology used in articles about fusors. Let me know if you have any other questions!