- #1
ikjadoon
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Hi! I have a major project coming up this next Thursday and am doing it on nuclear fusion used as power source. I've been reading the topic above (Fusion Summary?) and it is quite a read. I'll tell you, most of it is completely over my head, but it is one of the most interesting things I've read in a long time. (I'm glad the forum is civilized, as it seems to be a somewhat controversial issue.) :)
I am in high school (in an Honor's Physics class) so try to keep it somewhat simple. I'm grossly ignorant compared to many of you, so bear in mind that there are a lot of things I don't know.
Here goes!
I'll be posting many more questions over the coming days, but these are the first few. Thanks!
~Ibrahim~
P.S. I hope it doesn't this doesn't come off as cheating; I won't ask you to research anything. Heck, if an answer is better explained in a paper, link it! And I will only ask about things that I don't understand or can't find an answer for. Thanks again!
I am in high school (in an Honor's Physics class) so try to keep it somewhat simple. I'm grossly ignorant compared to many of you, so bear in mind that there are a lot of things I don't know.
Here goes!
- There is not substance on Earth that can contain it, correct? It actually requires containment? I'm reading up on the different types right now.
- It has no "true' waste products, meaning that everything that is released can be used?
- The only thing more powerful is matter + anti-matter annihilation?
- It isn't a chain-reaction, like fission. It needs enormous amounts of energy and pressure to start, but is that same amount needed to keep the atoms fusing?
- How many moles/grams would be needed of the reactants to produce a substantial amount of energy? Can I figure this out by myself by adding up masses of D + T -> He(4) + N and finding the mass defect (right word?), then using E=mc^2 to find the energy? For some reason, I don't think I can use the standard, weighted-average masses in a periodic table. And where can I find the masses of isotopes? Is the mass of a He(4) made from fusion different from a regular He(4)?
I'll be posting many more questions over the coming days, but these are the first few. Thanks!
~Ibrahim~
P.S. I hope it doesn't this doesn't come off as cheating; I won't ask you to research anything. Heck, if an answer is better explained in a paper, link it! And I will only ask about things that I don't understand or can't find an answer for. Thanks again!
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