Nuclear fusion Definition and 202 Threads

Alright, time to turn to something I've neglected for far too long, but which I cannot afford leaving unaddressed: My generation ship Exodus (accelerating and braking at 0.048 m/s2 over 25 years, maximum coasting speed 0.125 c) needs to decide on a specific type of nuclear-fusion reactor. This...

Hi there, I have been in the field of Nuclear Fusion for a couple of years now and while there are some good scientists there is a significant amount of questionable research practices around and I would like to hear your opinion on this as I am increasingly frustrated. I would like to...

It’s my understanding that a nova happens when you have a close binary star, and one component is a white dwarf. The white dwarf sucks hydrogen from its companion, the hydrogen piles up on the surface of the dwarf until it’s hot and dense enough to undergo nuclear fusion. Ka-boom. Right? Why is...

I am currently working on the determining the viability of muon-catalyzed fusion in a dense but tepid plasma and the first question pertains to the formation of muonic atoms once muons are injected into the plasma. Suppose the plasma is sufficiently dense such that pressure ionization ensures...

The dumbbell design of my fictional generation ship Exodus, as I’ve recently discovered, bears some similarity to the Enzmann starships, proposed by Dr. Robert Enzmann in 1964. I’ve even gone so far as to label the ship part of the “Enzmann class” within my setting...

Binding energy- the amount of energy required to dissemble the nucleus High binding energy means that the nucleus is very tightly bound, whereas a low binding energy means the nucleus is weakly bound. The nuclear strong force acts at a very short range whereas the Coulomb force is infinite...

Hi PF, I am new here. I'm trying to perform a risk assessment to enumerate, and then take steps to mitigate, the risks posed by building a fusor and performing nuclear fusion. The risks as I see it are: 1. Electrical hazards posed by the high voltage equipment 2. Potential fuel-air explosion...

Hi! everyone. I'm looking to plot potential of quasi-neutral plasma as a function of length. I know that plasma potential will drop at front of the wall from particle acceleration by electric field. I assume plasma is an electrostatic and cold (less collision). However, I'm trying to plot plasma...

Hello ! I would like to consult you about this cylindrical nuclear reactor model that I have been thinking of with the idea of reducing the friction of the plasmas with the walls of the Toroidal nuclear fusion reactors that causes the plasma temperature to drop and the nuclear reactions to stop...

I want to start a serious discussion here about our future on this small planet. This thread is especially dedicated to those of you, who are enthusiastic about atomic energy and energy crisis.

Nuclear Fusion Breakthrough Confirmed: California Team Achieved Ignition BY JESS THOMSON ON 8/12/22 AT 9:20 AM EDT https://www.newsweek.com/nuclear-fusion-energy-milestone-ignition-confirmed-california-1733238 For those of us not literate in the field, how significant is this and what are the...

Me again! For a sci-fi story I'm working on, I've created a sci-fi technology called an Aneutronic Triple Alpha Fusion Reactor. It works via aneutronic fusion, in this case, fusing Deuterium with Helium 3, but it also mimics the triple alpha process found within stars to maximise fuel use...

Hello! I have finished high school quite a few years ago. I did a physics course that went over nuclear fusion and fission, and I quite enjoyed it. However, I unfortunately no longer have those textbooks (I sold them on as many people do). Now I am doing a bit of programming in the field of...

How did you find PF?: I searched google for a Physics Forum I searches Google for a Physics Forum, to enable me to pose a question to people who know more about physics than I do. I have no detailed physics knowledge, but do read a lot of science articles, so understand most of the basics. A...

https://phys.org/news/2021-08-major-nuclear-fusion-milestone-ignition.html Anybody know any more? Like what they did differently from earlier trials.

I thought the first step is to compute the loss of mass. ##\Delta m=m(_1^2\textrm{H})+m(_1^3\textrm{H})-m(_2^4\textrm{He})-m(_0^1\textrm{n})=2.0141018u+3.0160493u- 4.0026033u-1.0086650u=0.0188828u##. The corresponding reaction energy is ##0.0188828 \cdot 931,5MeV=17.54MeV\approx 2.81\cdot...

Hi everyone! I was wondering if it is possible for a proton (H+) to fuse with an atom of potassium (K39 or K41) to create (Ca40+ or Ca42+)? And if so what types of forces would need to be overcome to make this possible? Thanks in advance for any help and sorry if this is a stupid question!:sorry:

I read in 2 books that 4 atoms of Hydrogen fuse and give 1 atom of Helium and 2 electrons, and these 2 electrons convert to light. And that the mass of the Helium is less than the mass of the 4 atoms of Hydrogen, thus that the mass lost converted to light too. But I sum up the masses of...

I have to give a presentation about natural Radiation and I am very happy about it because it includes Astrophysics. I want to explain to my audience how the stars produce cosmic rays. I thought about explaining to them how nuclear fusion and that kind of stuff works but then I realized that I...

If it is theoretically possible to compress hydrogen to core of the sun pressures at normal room temperature (practically impossible), the molecules become so close to each other that they could fuse at room temperature without the need of creating millions of degrees kelvin.

Hello! I'm a newbie here, so I apologize if I posted this in the wrong area of if this has already been answered. I'm a Mechanical engineering major at Georgia Tech (but I'll probably switch to Engineering Physics). Nonetheless, I'm very intrigued by the prospect of nuclear fusion and would...

Hi everyone, I am trying to figure out the following question: What is the typical mass of the plasma (in typical working configuration) in current nuclear fusion reactor designs? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ITER: "...plasma volume of 840 cubic meters..." So all I need is the plasma density...

I'm working on programming a particle simulation that visually shows the nuclear fusion reaction rate of deuterium at different densities and temperatures, but I'm having trouble understanding exactly how nuclear fusion cross section diagrams are supposed to be interpreted. (The simulation...

I might be interested in researching nuclear fusion reactors after college. What majors or double majors would be best suited for this career path? Physics, nuclear engineering, materials science, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, etc?

The best-known classes of nuclear transmutations are fission and fusion: Nuclear Fusion Under normal condition, nuclei do not stick together; because they repel each other at large distances (due to the electrostatic repulsion 'barrier') and thus the strong nuclear force cannot act. But if these...

Radioactive decay modes always release energy; but why can't nuclear fusion of light elements be a mode of radioactive decay? I guess because although such processes are exothermic, we need an inaccessible fairly high amount of energy to overcome the electrostatic repulsion barrier. But now...

I am currently a high school student in Hawaii, and I am interested in R&D of nuclear fusion for practical use. I just find it so fascinating that one day we could possibly harness unlimited power with very few consequences. Because of that I want to get advice on a few things. 1) What should...

If the gas in the fusion reactor was compressed as much as possible wouldn't that increase the efficiency of the reactor and therefore make nuclear fusion possible. It would significantly increase the chances of hydrogen atoms colliding with each other and therefore creating much more power.

How would electricity be generated from a nuclear fusion reactor? How soon do you think that fusion power plants will become a reality?

Want a nuclear fusion reactor for your home or office? No problemo... https://physicsworld.com/a/physicists-spot-the-signatures-of-nuclear-fusion-in-a-table-top-device/

we know nuclear fusion is a powerful,reliable and long lasting energy source,the power of future. 1 kilogram of fuel used in D-T fusion can generate as much as 3.401×10^14 joules of power, enough to power my home for a century. So how feasible is it to construct a small tokamak in my house with...

When I was an undergrad doing research in a university lab, the director of the lab also consulted at a Nuclear Fusion company. I remember like it was yesterday him making a statement that commercial Nuclear Fusion was going to be a reality within 10 years. That was 1977. What happened? Lack...

The released products of a transmutation reaction (I say transmutation when 2 particles reacts to generate more than one) follows the conservation of kinetic energy law. Also particles moving in opposite direction can have equal speed one with respect the other than rather if one of them is...

For a Year 12 Assignment I have to do a seminar on how magnetic fields are involved with a certain topic. I chose nuclear fusion energy production and specifically the tokamak. I understand that a toroidal magnetic field is created when a current is sent through a solenoid wrapped in a torus...

Hello, can you please confirm this statement "Nuclear fusion does not require a minimum mass to occur (critical mass), which is instead a characteristic limit of fission. So you can make small fusion bombs as much as you want."? Thanks!

I am an undergrad physics major in my final semester currently taking Intro to Thermodynamics. As a final project, each student must choose a topic related to thermodynamics that is more advanced than what is covered in the curriculum and write a paper and present our findings to the class on...

Hi guys, I have been reading about nuclear fusion and I have some doubts that I did not find the answer. I understand that the reactants are in a more energetic state than the products when the energy release occurs, however: *What triggers the release of energy? *Where does the released energy...

I would like to know if there is any formula for calculating the necessary conditions for certain elements to undergo nuclear fusion. I know that before the quantum tunnel effect was proposed, theoretically nuclear fusion reactions shouldn't occur in the Sun; with the increasing energy (affected...

When two atoms undergo nuclear fusion, some of the mass is converted into energy, but where is this lost mass from? Atoms are composed of protons, neutrons, and electrons, but all three have all have set values for mass. What is the origin of this mass that is converted to energy?

I was unsure whether or not to post this question here or in the Nuclear physics sub-section, but it's a relatively simple question: Given that quantum tunneling exists, would it be possible to produce infinite energy via repeated nuclear fusion reactions? Now given the second law of...

Does anyone have any good recommendations for some introductory books on nuclear fusion that I can read from my phone?

So, I have a Bachelor's degree in Electronics and Communications (outside of US) and I wanted to pursue work in nuclear fusion so I had applied for an MS in nuclear engineering in the US. I have gotten admission in the University of Florida. Anyway, I was sharing this information elsewhere on...

I'm new to this so please correct me if I'm doing this wrong. I'm curious to know about what practical uses are there for nuclear fusion other than a green power source.? I've already seen a few readings and a video from a Michel fellow about how it works, and it's fascinating stuff I'm not much...

http://physics.stackexchange.com/questions/249809/why-only-light-nuclei-are-able-to-undergo-nuclear-fusion-not-heavy-nuclei Can anyone please explain me - what is similar between Nuclear fission & Nuclear fusion? Why are only light nuclei able to undergo nuclear fusion, not heavy nuclei? I am a...

I understand that the nuclear cross section determines the probability of fusion taking place. When I was talking to my friend he said that the cross section doesn't depend on anything but the particles and their energies. But I fail to understand this. For example, let us consider ionization. I...

ok so this has been on my mind for a while. If the hotter a stars burn or flame the further it goes on the spectrum correct so what if it burned so hot it is literally invisible wouldent that be considered a dark matter then it's a dark matter sun

Fusion energy is very efficient and clean,but it's very hard to achieve it.That's why I think that instead of wasting energy on starting the fusion reaction we could use nuclear fission to start the fusion reaction. It's a simple concept:just let more neutrons in the fission reaction. This will...

I am a high school senior debating between these two majors. In high school, I enjoyed both Mechanics and E&M very much so its really tough for me to decide which of the two engineering fields I'll like more. Whichever field I pick, I am also planning to minor or double in Physics and Computer...

Usually people talk about magnetic confinement schemes or some such thing for fusion reactions presumably because the pressure and temperatures would vaporize/destroy all conceived material vessels too quickly. I would like to hear someone talk about the limits of materials in this realm. So...

Wikipedia says that solar core has 15 millions of Kelvins ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_core ), what translates into ~1.4 keV energy per degree of freedom. For nuclear fusion we need to take the two nuclei to distance of range of nuclear forces: ~1fm (...