Nuclear fusion Definition and 202 Threads

Homework Statement To calculate the height of the potential barrier for a head on collision between two deuterons given that each deuteron is a sphere of radius R Homework Equations Potential of the first deuteron at a distance of 2R from it =V = ke/2R where k = 9 * 10^9 , e= 1.6 *...

Hi all, I've been given an assignment to calculate the temperature increase of the fusion reactor walls in some theoretical event. It is a 30keV plasma energy in which the heat of the entire plamsa is instantaneously dropped on the wall. I can calculate volume of the wall and have the given...

Do you think D+D Nuclear Fusion will be possible within the next 50 or 60 years? Although the Z machine reportedly reached temperatures of over 2,000,000,000 Degrees (F), I doubt we will be able to output enough energy and pressure to make a self-sustaining D+D fusion reaction anytime within the...

Is the reason why the energy liberating fustion process ends with uranium(more precisely Iron) is that uranium's bindind energy per nucleon begins to decrease and hence will absorb energy rather than emit it, and thus is not self sustaining? Thanks in Advance

Hello. I am currently a senior in high school. I am currently taking AP Physics C and will be through calc III/diff eq by the time i graduate. I am interested in going into nuclear engineering but i do not just want to work at some power plant the rest of my life. I am interested in theorhetical...

I seem to be having a problem adding a reply to the end of the previous thread so I am starting a new one! Thanks for everyone replying. A couple of points. The first is that nobody seems to have tried two end-on plasmas directed at each other. A dense pair of plasmas fired at each other...

As per a previous thread, if you fire two plasma jets of deuterium at each other at high enough relative velocity, the deuterons would collide and fuse into helium. Does anyone know what is the relative velocity in kilometers per hour necessary for deuterons hitting each other head on to fuse...

Hello, I am curious about fusion reaction cross sections, and fusion power in general, and have been trying to self-teach myself in this area. I saw some emprical data for cross section curves in a paper that I read recently, and thought I understood enough of what made the curve (cross...

I was reading this "almost-a-real-article" in Popular Mechanics and came across the following extract http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/earth/4322757.html Which, to my layman's ear, sounded absolutely fantastic until I read one of the comments Now, it seems that...

So, i know that during nuclear fission, a heavy particle is split into two smaller ones that have a higher specific binding energy. And i know that a certain amount of mass is transformed to energy for the binding. The same thing happens during nuclear fusion. However, from my intuitive (and...

I know from reading that when the core from a massive star is transformed into iron through the process of nuclear fusion that the star collapses because the newly formed iron core does not put out any energy to support the weight of the star. My question is, why is iron like this when it is...

even if sustained nuclear fusion via deuterium-tritium type reactions were possible, and the energy that is released exceeds the energy that is put in, and this energy is harnessed as a conventional water-steam generator, would such a design be commericially viable, based on the current cost of...

hey guys, I am new here and thought you might like to help me out. I am a first year astronomy student at Curtin University in Western Australia. my current assignment has asked me to calculate the mass of hydrogen converted in the sun to helium and energy over 10 billion years (10 billion...

Hi everyone, want to know about the physics of nuclear fusion, fission and particle emission in nuclear reactions. Let's say that we collide two nuclei: 82Kr+48Ca at 5.5MeV/n energies, theory says that in this reaction these nuclei can fuse(with some probability) and form 130Ba, and since...

Hi, I don't know if this is the right place to post. Anyway, the fact is this: http://arxiv.org/PS_cache/nucl-ex/pdf/0701/0701065v1.pdf already published on Instrument and nuclear method B and http://arxiv.org/PS_cache/arxiv/pdf/0805/0805.4538v1.pdf already published on...

Hello. Please let me start off by saying that I'm not very smart. I know I am most likely going to embarrass myself, but I hope that I do learn a lot, and maybe can one day be smart enough to not have to ask such obvious questions. Until then I'm truly sorry. Ok. Recently I have been...

Hey everyone, When you have the fusion of deuterium and tritium, what is it that causes the release of energy? On one website i read that the energy is released according e=mc2 where mass is converted into energy (as the mass of the products<mass of reactants). On another website however, i...

This question is probably very basic for those who understand nuclear fusion but it has been annoying me for a while now and I would like an answer. I have tried searching these forums but I can't find what I'm looking for. The sun is constantly fusing hydrogen atoms to form helium atoms...

Homework Statement In a proposed fusion reactor, one possible reaction is H(2,1) + H(3,1) -> He(4,2) + n(1,0) How much energy might 150kg of the appropriate amount of isotopes of hydrogen produce? Values given Ar of H(2,1) = 2.014102 Ar of H(3,1) = 3.016050 Ar of He(4,2) = 4.002602...

I've got a question on nuclear physics, specifically binding energy. I understand that binding energy is the energy needed to separate a nucleus into its constituents. But something has been bugging me. For example, Two deuterium nuclei fuse together to form a Helium-3 nucleus, with the...

i got a atronphysics question that i have a hard time to solve it: In the most massive stars, nuclear fusion continues until iron-56 is formed in the core. consider the net process, which is to take 56 hydrogen atoms and turn them into one iron atom. a, how much enegry is released per atom...

So I understand that when a nucleus is formed from its individual nucleons, that there will be a decrease in mass known as the mass defect. The mass defect can be equally converted to energy following E = mc^2 and this is the nuclear binding energy. Now, is this energy released into the...

I was just wondering if nuclear fusion is considered a radioactive process?

Homework Statement In a nuclear fusion reaction two 2H atoms are combined to produce 4He. (a) Calculate the decrease in rest mass in unified mass units. (b) How much energy is released in this reaction? (c) How many such reactions must take place per second to produce 400 W of power...

does the fusion process cause a chain reaction? or in a fusion reactor are lots of hydrogen atoms released to produce energy. does a fusion reactor heat water and produce steam to generate electricity? if you know anything then please let me know. thanks

Encyclopedias and the like seem to explain the energy gain from nuclear fusion reactions (as in the sun) in the following manner: for elements with atomic weights less than iron, the HIGHER the weight of the atom the less binding energy needed to overcome electromagnetic repulsion in the...

Could Bernouilli's principle be used to cause nuclear fusion.Instead of spherical targets for lasers to strike what if we had funnel shaped targets - lots of them - with their apices all meeting in roughly the same region of space.Lasers beams could strike the wide ends of the funnels and force...

Hey people, Had an idea about a device for nuclear fusion. Now I figure its too much mess and too many people will have to be envolved anyway to get a patent or something, even if it was a realistic idea - as remote as that chance may be, so if it works remember I thought about it so I could...

Hey people, Had an idea about a device for nuclear fusion. Now I figure its too much mess and too many people will have to be envolved anyway to get a patent or something, even if it was a realistic idea - as remote as that chance may be, so if it works remember I thought about it so I could...

Pons and Fleischman used a palladium cathode in their cold fusion experiment of 1989 (cathode immersed in heavy water,D20) and they said that excess energy was released from the system. Since 1989 lots of experiments have been done and some researchers have agreed with the findings of Pons and...

Homework Statement The first step in nuclear fusion on the sun involves the collison of two protons, which form a deutron. Consider two protons far apart on a collison course with equal but opposite velocity. Their average kinetic energy is given by K = 1/2mv^2 = 3/2KbT where Kb is...

I need to explain fusion to some intro chem people, but they are really dense...Think this will work: *see picture

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...

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...

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 have a problem reconciling something. According to Newton's shell theorem, at any point within a solid sphere, for the purposes of calculating the gravitational force exerted on you, the mass that is outside your own radius to the center can be ignored since it cancels out, and the net force...

This is a total newb question but please explain. If nuclear fusion is occurring during a hydrogen bomb explosion, then why is it said that more energy is needed catalyze fusion than will be produced during the reaction - H-bombs seem to blow that theory out of the water. (no pun intended) :-p

I'm looking for some input on this. Wisconsin has the better programs for MHD theory, CFD, and my undergrad advisor told me IHO it has the best plasma physics program period. However Michigan offers more options in applied plasmas in areas other than fusion energy. Honestly, I don't know if...

Hi. I need help please with a textbook illustration that has confused me. Is the caption a typo? Should be "neutrons into protons" instead? Thanks.

I am currently studying A level Physics. I understand that, in a nuclear fusion reaction, the mass of the nucleus we end up with is smaller than that of its constituent nuclei, so Δm is negative and so energy is lost in huge amounts. But what about a nuclear fission reaction? The mass of the...

more in, http://www.theguardian.com/science/2014/feb/12/nuclear-fusion-breakthrough-green-energy-source

does fusion nuclear reaction produce alpha and jamma ridation or just alpha

Hi, I'm doing some coursework on nuclear fusion, and am trying to calculate the energy released by fusing a tritium and a deuterium atom together. I used the equation: ( Σ mass (reactants) - Σ mass (products) ) x 931.5 MeV/amu = Binding energy. and Deuterium + Tritium = Helium +...

Scientists at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory used the NIF ( National Ignition Facility ) laser to reach encouraging progress toward ignition From "The Independent" newpaper serving Livermore: http://www.independentnews.com/news/article_792110c0-2c5b-11e3-846e-001a4bcf887a.html...

Can anyone say how close we are to obtaining a workable nuclear fusion generating plant? I understand the largest trial is being built in France (albeit with many delays apparently) Does anyone have any understanding as to what the best guess is to this technology being available to the...

In the fusion of hydrogen to give helium, some protons get converted into neutrons. As a proton and neutron have no electrostatic force of repulsion between them, the potential energy between the two protons is released in the form of gamma rays(ultimately). Also part of the energy is used to...

I have questions regarding nuclear fusion: 1: Can all atoms fuse, say a hydrogen and carbon atom, could they fuse? or does it need to be the same type of atoms. 2: Are there any equations that determine the force needed to fuse? I'd think it'd have to do with x and x2 number of protons...

Why can't the Sun (or any star) fuse elements higher than iron? Could anyone provide a technical answer? Thanks!