Fusion Definition and 874 Threads

Homework Statement the radius from the symmetry to center of the plasma is about 6.2 metres and the minor radius is 2 metres Homework Equations Can you guys help me to make the plasma geometry for MCNP? The Attempt at a Solution the softcode of plasma geometry

Ok, so before I begin, I'd like to point out that I'm a 16-year-old GCSE student from the UK. Therefore all of my physics knowledge above high school level is self-taught, so I am by no means an expert. Anyway, I plan on building a deuterium reactor this Summer as a personal project, and I've...

Dear PF Forum, In previous thread, I am asking about fusion power. But there is one thing that intriguing me. This is one of the reactions that produces tritium. n + _3^6Li -> _2^4He + _1^3H + 4.8 Mev What is this reaction called? 1. Fusion? If yes, why it's called fusion? 2. Fission? 3. Other...

Dear PF Forum, I'd like to know more about fusion power. Perhaps someone can give me idea. 1. Is Q is inefficient, take ITER for example? Supposed Q < 1, can't the produced heat boils water and recycled back to the system to produce fusion again? After all, fusion power plant (if it can be...

Homework Statement Consider; p+p \rightarrow d + e^+ + \nu_e Assume the binding energy of deuteron is 2.2MeV, calculate the maximum energy that the positron can have. Homework Equations m_p=938.28MeV/c^2 m_n=939.566MeV/c^2 m_d=1875.6MeV/c^2 The Attempt at a Solution Assuming the neutrino was...

Hello, For my Master's Project, we are to choose an IMU module to stabilize a platform. You can think of a servo actuated turret, mounted on a Stewart Platform(which will generate the disturbances). The angular position error should be very low and there are both high and low frequency...

Hello. I want to know the full in-detail process which happends inside our Sun's thermo-nuclear core. As far as I know the steps in the H - He fusion process are: 1) H+H -> He2 2) He2 can rarely decay (Beta plus) into Deterium and a positron 3) If so Deterium + H -> He3 4) He3 + He3 -> He4 + 2H...

So as we all know (or at least I assume) Global Warming is real and happening, I am a teen, 17, and not trying to get answers for homework or anything like that. I just want to know, is it possible to create fusion using the temperature found at active Geo-thermal sites to reach the temp...

Is there a book or database that lists all (or many) pairs of isotopes along with the energy at which they have the higest probability of fusion and what that probability is? Or is there a program that uses models to make a guess given a pair? Or a formula I could use to make the guess myself...

I've been following this with interest, and would like the opinion on those here with a lot more knowledge of the subject than I am. Depending on what you read, this is technology that will be available within a decade, or it's a pipe dream many decades away. Is it something we'll see in our...

Homework Statement Some time ago, an (in)famous paper by Trubnikov argued that magnetic fusion would be impossible because the power radiated by electrons would exceed any likely fusion power. He provided a very elaborate calculation, but the result was not greatly diffferent from the simple...

I was curious about why the plasma inside a modern fusion reactor (ITER, DIII-D) is modeled with a D-shaped cross section. From what I've read, it is more stable that way, but WHY is it more stable than a similar plasma flow with a circular cross-section? Thanks in advance (and sorry if I...

How would fusion processes be affected, by a background bath / sea of neutrinos ? Would the constant interactions between fusion products, and neutrinos, constantly break apart the fusion products, and so tend to "undo" the fusion?

Ok, so nuclear fusion is given by the formula E=MC2, where E = Energy, M = Rest mass and C = 299792458. To my understanding, this means that if two protons collide under the incredibly high speeds/temperatures(like they do in the sun), they will fuse, having reduced mass and that mass is...

I was reading that the ITER will take advantage of the energetic neutron flux by using them and lithium 6 to breed tritium for more fuel, and to use multiple heat exchangers to grab their energy. And just to make sure that I'm reading it right, the main problem with the neutrons will be their...

Homework Statement You take a 0.5 L bottle of water (5 °C) from a refrigerator, and pour it into a glass. Find the mass of ice at 0 °C needed to cool your drink down to 1 °C ? the heat of fusion of water is 333 kJ/kg, and the specific heat of water is 4.19 kJ?(kg.°C). Homework EquationsThe...

Could somebody explain me if there's a theory, axiom, law or something that can refuse the possibility of "Cold Fusion" in experimental basis? Thanks a lot. Karmo

Hello, I am doing some research involving supercooled water flash freezing into ice. I am doing some calculations and I think that I must be wrong judging by my result. Using the latent heat of fusion of water, and the specific heat of water, I can calculate a temperature value which should...

My counselors, advisers, and teachers are tired of me so I've come here for some help. I've been interested in renewable energy since I was much younger, but was wondering what kind of path one goes down to dive into becoming a part of the research involved in figuring out our problems with...

I would suggest that everyone check out the ITER fusion tokomak project in progress. If this unit works it will change the world. Also Molten salt thorium reactors have gotten a fresh look..Weinberg and Radkowsky s work from the old days may use nuclear waste blend to power no pressurized safer...

I was reading about negative temperature here http://www.nature.com/news/quantum-gas-goes-below-absolute-zero-1.12146 and how the state is "hotter than hot" and thought of fusion.Since you need very high temperatures for fusion does the discovery on negative temperatures bring fusion as a power...

In the news today, several articles about Lockheed's ambitious five or ten year plan. eg this one from the Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/capital-business/wp/2014/10/15/nuclear-fusion-energy-in-a-decade-lockheed-martin-is-betting-on-it/ This one from Aviation Week...

A recent issue of Aviation Week described a novel design for a fusion reactor from the Lockheed Skunk Works. It was smaller, simpler and lighter than the extant systems now being built and they're optimistic about it's test run in five years. I wrote a letter to the editor touting this departure...

In a bosonic atom i.e. Hydrogen, why do we never observe quantum tunneling past the coulomb barrier leading to multiple atoms occupying the same area of space thus (due to Newton's law of universal gravitation) accelerating towards each other resulting in nuclear fusion?

Hello, I'm 15 and very interested in physics. I'm building a safe nuclear fusion reactor as a science project. (I know how to safely handle high voltage and radiation) I have a question about the power supply. First off, I know that fusion takes around 40 Kilo-volts and it needs to have a...

I know that fusion experiments are difficult due to the fact the plasma seldom stays stable for long, but what exactly causes this plasma instability and are they any formulas to possibly predict the destabilisation of the plasma?

I understand the main concepts around this topic but I am struggling to find any information about the potential energy involved in the latent heat of fusion. My book defines internal energy as kinetic and potential unlike an ideal gas that is assumed to have just kinetic energy. When a...

Can a small fusion cell be created? If no, is it due to low confinement time it would have or something else? Thank you.

Homework Statement Two 2_1 H atoms undergo fusion to form 3_1 H and 1_1 H atom calculate the energy released by 1.0kg of deuterium.. the amu is given as :2_1 H : 2.01402u 3_1 H : 3.016049u 1_1 H : 1.007825 u P/s : i am...

I am a Senior in High School and I would like guidance in selecting a major. I've been most seriously considering Aeronautical, Mechanical, Chemical, and Materials engineering. Maybe Engineering Physics, I don't know too much about it though. Is nuclear engineering a major some places? What...

After Lockheed Martins announcement that they were developing a fusion reactor that might fit on the back of a pickup truck, I got into a conversation with someone about how one would shield such a device. So I found some tables that described the cross section of protons at different energy...

Hi there, Sorry if thisis a stupid question its just been bugging me for a while and I am not a scientist as such so need help with the answer... nuclear fission is where two atoms collide and release energy yes? nuclear fusion is where two atoms combine to release energy and a new isotope...

Hi, I'm in my final year at an Australian high school and I plan on completing at Bachelors in Science Majoring in Physics as my undergraduate course. My career aspiration is one day work researching nuclear fusion, though I am happy to work with fission reactors, they're just not my first...

Homework Statement During fusion of hydrogen to helium, 4 billion kg of matter are converted to energy each second. What fraction of the Sun’s total mass is lost each year to this process? Homework Equations None. The Attempt at a Solution First: Convert how many seconds are there in a year 1...

I am currently in my first year of undergrad taking general science course classes with an undeclared Major. My dream is to work with Nuclear Fusion reactors, and i am at a bit of a loss at choosing Majors. Should I make my concentration "Applied physics specializing in Nuclear Engineering(or...

I am interested in doing research in controlled nuclear fusion , i am doing my electrical engineering 4th year in India. Since no college in my country offers post graduation in fusion related fields , i have decided to do M.Tech in Nuclear science and technology in Indian Institute of Technolgy...

A basic question for which I could not find any answers on the internet: What factors do determine whether the fusion results with a He-4 and gamma rays, H-3 and proton, or He-3 and neutron? If it is random, are there any methods to predict the rations of these reactions? Thank you.

Do you know of any promising concepts for small scale fusion reactors (for electric power production)? I'm thinking of something the size of, say, a train car or even smaller.

Certainly fission is a prime example of entropy. But what about fusion? Doesn't fusion look like a process that goes from a disordered state to an ordered one? Out of chaos comes order!

What is the general difference between the two (for someone who is still new to nuclear physics) and which one produces the highest net energy? Which of these has the highest potential for the future?

I'm only beginning to scratch the surface of higher level Physics and, despite my usual haunt being the EE area, I enjoy reading the responses and discussion in this section of the forum. I was talkin' to a friend about Fusion power and he asked me why it wasn't used instead of Fission. Now...

When doing an experiment to find the specific latent heat of fusion of liquid nitrogen, you find that 100 kJ of heat must be removed to freeze 3.8kg of nitrogen at its freezing point. What value will you get for the specific latent heat of fusion of nitrogen? Power=100kj M=3.8kg I don't...

I came across these slides http://hedpschool.lle.rochester.edu/2009SummerSchool/lectures/Key.pdf which say that the main problems with Fast igniton fusion are 1. Compress DT fuel to high ρ, ρR around cone tip; cone tip must survive Gbar implosion pressure 2. Relativistic laser interaction...

What type of fusion reaction generates the most neutrons? All I've been able to find information for is D-D fusion and D-T fusion.

I am doing a high school research project on nuclear fusion and i just wanted to double check if my understanding of the role of binding energy in fusion reactions was correct. So we add energy in the form of heat to a tritium atom of mass "3" approximately and deuterium of mass "2" , this is...

Hey guys, So, I'm writing a screenplay about space travel. I've been thinking of using nuclear fusion as the method of space travel. I've read it's a viable option. But, I don't know much about nuclear fusion. I know cold fusion is, at this point, a near-impossible option. But is it true...

Homework Statement You are required to calculate the efficiency of an ice-making machine that takes in water at a temperature of 16°C and produces ice cubes at a temperature of -6°C. Water is taken in at the rate of 1kg every 5 minutes and the input power to the machine is 300W. The Specific...

Ok so I recently read this article (http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/184280-focus-fusion-has-cheap-clean-earth-saving-fusion-power-been-right-under-our-noses-all-along). This gave me a few ideas and a few questions. I would like to create a smaller version of this setup to fuse deuterium into...

I am an electrical engineering student doing my third year. I am interested in doing research in making fusion energy a commercial energy source by doing research in current techniques and also interested in creating new techniques for making fusion process continuous and efficient than current...

I am trying to determine whether a burn would propagate faster through hydrogen or helium. My initial guess is helium due to the higher mass. I also think this is true in stars. Anyone have an idea on burn propagation and how different masses of material would affect it? Is my first...