A

Project Report On

“NUCLEAR FUSION AND FISSION”

Submitted to

MAHARAJA GANGA SINGH UNIVERSITY

In the partial fulfillment of requirement

For the award of the degree of

Master of Science
In
PHYSICS
Under the supervision of Submitted by:
Mrs. Babita Paras

Department of Physics
Maharshi Dayanand PG College
Sri Ganganagar (Raj.)
2017-2018
 Department of Physics
Maharshi Dayanand PG College
Sri Ganganagar (Raj.)

Mr. Deepak Dhamija cont. no.

(M.Sc., B.ed., NET) E-mail-

CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that the project report entitled “NUCLEAR
FUSION AND FISSION” submitted to Maharaja Ganga Singh
University for the Degree of Master of Science is a bonafide record
of original work done by “Paras” under my supervision during 2017-
2018.

Place:- Sri Ganganagar

Signature of Superviser
Date -
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Firstly, I would like to express my deepest thanks to Mrs.
Babita who had guided me through a lot of task during the
preparation of report.
I would also like to thanks Mrs. Navneet And Mr. Deepak for
support and guidance in the preparation of this work. I also want to
thanks Mr. Jasram Ji for his support.
I had numerous discussion with our friends, in particular with
Praveen Maharia, Navdeep and Naresh.
It gives me great pleasure to express my sincere thanks and
gratitude to Dr. Rajesh Dhingra for their active support.
I am also thankful to my dear friends Neeraj, Govind, Pankaj
and everyone; those have been contributed by supporting my work.
My acknowledgment would be incomplete if I failed to express
my gratitude to GOD and my family members for their moral
support and encouragement during the entire work.
Finally, I would to thanks Microsoft such a wonderful tool like
MS WORD. It helped my work a lot to remain error-free.
ABSTRACT
 DECLARATION

I PARAS hereby declare that the project “NUCLEAR FUSION

AND FISSION” Submitted for the M.Sc. degree is my original work
and the basic project report has not formed the basis for the award of
any degree, association ship, fellowship of any other similar title.

PARAS
 1. INTRODUCTION

Fission has a unique importance among nuclear reaction. Apart from the
nuclear reaction that drive the sun, no other nuclear reaction has had such a
profound inspect on the affairs of men. The discovery of fission, and the
developments that proceeded from it, have altered the world forever and have
impinged on the consciousness of every literate human being. The exploitation
of nuclear energy, which followed the discovery of fission, particularly in
weapons of mass destruction, has been of profound importance to humankind.

Knowledge of fission and its consequences is important for the

nuclear power industry and the related fields of nuclear waste management and
environment clean up. From the point of view of basic research, fission is
interesting in it’s own right as a large scale collective motion of the nucleus, as
an important exist channel for many nuclear reaction, and as a source of
neutron-rich nuclei for nuclear structure studies and use as radioactive beams.

The reader should be cautioned that understanding the fission

process represents a very difficult problem. Some of the best minds in chemistry
and physics have worked on the problem since the discovery of the fission. Yet
while we understand many aspects of the fission process, there is no overall
theoretical framework that gives a satisfactory account of the basic observations.
Because of the large amount of information available about fission, it is beyond
the scope of the report to present a complete treatment of fission research. We
shell attempt to emphasize the fundamental aspects of the subject. The reader is
referred to one of the excellent monographs or reviews of fission for further
information.
2.DISCOVERY OF NUCLEAR FISSION

Artificial transmutation gathered tremendous momentum after the discovery

in 1932. Around 1934, Fermi was carrying on experiments to produce
transuranic elements by bombarding uranium (natural uranium is dense black
in colour) with neutrons. He could produce number of such elements having
atomic number greater then 92 ( greatest atomic number of natural element
uranium) and hence name given to this elements as transuranic elements.
The process of fission was discovered by Otto Hahn and his two associates
Meitner and Strassmann in 1939. In the similar experiments fission has
proved as boon to mankind because it is going to be an inexhaustible source
of energy in the near future when all fossil fuels with reach to the lowest
availability.

Explanation On The Liquid Drop Model

Bohr and Wheeler explained the phenomenon of nuclear fission on the

liquid drop model of the nucleus. The fissile nucleus is normally maintained
in equilibrium under the combined action of short range nuclear forces of
attraction among the nucleons in it which try to maintain the shape of the
nucleus as such and the coulomb forces of repulsion among the protons in it
which try to distort its shape. When some energy is imparted to the drop, say
through the capture of a neutron, oscillations are set up in the drop which
tend to distort the spherical shape of the nucleus, while the surface tension
forces try to restore it. When the excitation energy is sufficiently large, the
compound nucleus is in an excited state and is sufficiently distorted in shape
like that of a dumb-bell. When the coulomb force of repulsion between the
two halves of this dumb-bell exceeds the nuclear forces holding the nucleons,
the nucleus breaks up into two fragments and fission is said to take place.
The various steps from neutron capture to fission of U235 nucleus are shown
in Fig.1
The capture of neutrons by 235 U92 nucleus results in the formation of a
compound nucleus. 236 U92. The compound nucleus undergoes distortion due to
excitation energy to attain the shape of a dumb-bell and finally split up into
fission product 141Ba56 and 92Kr36 with release of the three neutrons

For a spherical charge drop, the surface energy is given by

Es = 4∏R2σ = 4∏r20A2/3σ = asA2/3

And the coulomb energy,

Ec = ac Z2/A1/3
As shown above the fission process to begin, the shape of nucleus must be
deformed. This means R must become large resulting in an increase of surface
energy and decrease in coulomb energy. The net change in energy

ΔE α (2Es – Ec)

ΔE = 0 if 2Es –Ec = 0 or Ec = 2Es

Or acZ2/A1/3 = 2asA1/3

Or Z2/A = 2as/ac

Now as = 18 MeV and ac = 0.8 MeV approximately

Z2/A = 45 (approx.)
Thus, according to Bohr-Wheeler theory, spontaneous fission should occur in
nuclides with Z2/A values greater then 45. For nuclides with Z2/A value less then
45, fission is not expected to occur unless some particle is captured by the nuclei
which supplies the activation energy required.

2.1 Source of energy

Taking the case of fission of U235 into barium and krypton, it is found that the
mass of barium nucleus+ krypton nucleus + 3 neutron is less then that
of parent 235 U92 + neutron. This decrease in mass results in the corresponding
release of energy which can be computed from the following data.

Mass of 235 U92 = 235.1175 a.m.u.

Mass of neutron = 1.00898 a.m.u.

Total intial mass = 236.12648 a.m.u.

Mass of Barium = 140.9577 a.m.u.

Mass of Krypton = 91.9264 a.m.u.

Mass of 3 neutrons = 3.25694 a.m.u.

Total final mass = 235.91104 a.m.u.

Loss in Mass = 236.91104 – 235.91104 a.m.u.

= 0.21544 a.m.u.

= 0.21544 × 931.2 MeV = 200.5 MeV

Out of this energy, 170 MeV is carried by the fission fragments as kinetic
energy, 5MeV by fission neutrons, 15 MeV by ß and γ-rays which are produced
due to the radioactivity of the fission fragments and 10 MeV by the neutrons
associated with ß-decay.

The fast neutrons produced in the fission process can be thermalised i.e. brought
down to thermal energies with the help of moderators like heavy water and
graphite and then used to initiate fission i another U235 atom.
 3. NUCLEAR FISSION
The process of breaking up the nucleus of a heavy atom into
two, more or less equal segment with the release of a large
amount of energy is known as fission.

4. NUCLEAR CHAIN REACTION

A nuclear chain reaction occurs when one single nuclear reaction

causes an average of one or more subsequent nuclear reactions, thus leading to
the possibility of a self-propagating series of these reactions. The specific
nuclear reaction may be the fission of heavy isotopes (e.g., uranium-235, 235U).
The nuclear chain reaction releases several million times more energy per
reaction than any chemical reaction.

4.1 Fission chain reaction

Fission chain reactions occur because of interactions between neutron and
fissile isotopes (such as 235U). The chain reaction requires both the release of
neutrons from fissile isotopes undergoing nuclear fission and the subsequent
absorption of some of these neutrons in fissile isotopes. When an atom
undergoes nuclear fission, a few neutrons (the exact number depends on several
factors) are ejected from the reaction. These free neutrons will then interact
with the surrounding medium, and if more fissile fuel is present, some may be
absorbed and cause more fissions. Thus, the cycle repeats to give a reaction that
is self-sustaining.

Nuclear power plants operate by precisely controlling the rate at which nuclear
reactions occur, and that control is maintained through the use of several
redundant layers of safety measures. Moreover, the materials in a nuclear
reactor core and the uranium enrichment level make a nuclear explosion
impossible, even if all safety measures failed. On the other hand, nuclear
weapons are specifically engineered to produce a reaction that is so fast and
intense it cannot be controlled after it has started. When properly designed, this
uncontrolled reaction can lead to an explosive energy release.

Fig 2 : Fission Chain Reaction

4.2 Timescales of nuclear chain reactions
4.2.1 Prompt neutron lifetime
The prompt neutron lifetime, l, is the average time between the emission of
neutrons and either their absorption in the system or their escape from the
system. The term lifetime is used because the emission of a neutron is often
considered its "birth," and the subsequent absorption is considered its "death."
For thermal (slow-neutron) fission reactors, the typical prompt neutron lifetime
is on the order of 10−4 seconds, and for fast fission reactors, the prompt neutron
lifetime is on the order of 10−7 seconds. These extremely short lifetimes mean
that in 1 second, 10,000 to 10,000,000 neutron lifetimes can pass. The average
(also referred to as the adjoint unweighted) prompt neutron lifetime takes into
account all prompt neutrons regardless of their importance in the reactor core;
the effective prompt neutron lifetime (referred to as the adjoint weighted over
space, energy, and angle) refers to a neutron with average importance.

4.2.2 Mean generation time

The mean generation time, Λ, is the average time from a neutron emission to a
capture that results in fission. The mean generation time is different from the
prompt neutron lifetime because the mean generation time only includes
neutron absorptions that lead to fission reactions (not other absorption
reactions). The two times are related by the following formula:

A = 1/K
5. FISSION FRAGMENTS AND FISSION
PRODUCTS
 Fission fragments have a double bell distribution as a funcation of A.
 Note that they are unstable, as are neutron rich they decay towards stable
nuclei by a chain of beta decays.
 This yields the so called “fission products”.
 Some fifty per cent of fission products have decay times less then one
year, the rest has lifetimes that can be as long as million years.
6. NEUTRONS FROM FISSION

 One distinguishes two types neutrons from fission: prompt neutrons they
are those accompanying the two nuclear frangments,
e.g the 2n in 235U + n → 93Rb + 141Cs + 2n
in this case of 235U, there are on the average 2.42 prompt neutrons –
delayed neutrons.

These are associated with the beta decay of the fission products. Indeed,
after prompt fission neutron emission the residual fragments are still
neuytron rich. They undergo a ß decay chain. In some cases the
available energy in the ß decay is high enough for leaving the residual
nucleus in such a highly exited state that neutron emission instead of
gamma emission occurs.(beta delayed neutron emission).

Delayed neutrons have delays of order seconds. They are about 1/100
fission. Delayed neutrons are essential for the control of nuclear
reactors.
7. Type Of Nuclear fission
7.1 Spontaneous and induced nuclear fission

Nuclei with atomic numbers greater than 83 are unstable although some
have very long half-lives. Above this value of Z, the repulsive electrical
force between the protons is greater than the attractive strong nuclear
force between the nucleons, and the nuclei disintegrate. For most
naturally-occurring nuclei, the decay is by spontaneous α- or β-decay,
and these are often accompanied by γ-decay. However there are other
possibilities:
In some cases a very heavy parent nucleus decays into two
(medium mass) daughter nuclei. This is called nuclear fission and a
material containing nuclei that undergo fission is said to be a fissile
material.

Natural or spontaneous fission is also common in artificially-produced

nuclei. For example, the
fermium-256 nucleus may
undergo spontaneous
fission into a xenon
nucleus, a palladium
nucleus and four neutrons:
256
Fm100 → 140

Xe54+112 P46 d+41n (1)

The mass energy of
nucleus is always less than
the sum of the mass
energies of its constituent
nucleus and the binding energy of the nucleus is equal to this difference. The
binding energy per nucleon is a measure of the stability of a nucleus; the
larger this energy the more stable the nucleus fig 1 shows the binding plotted
against the mass number A for each nucleus.

We can see from fig 1 that a consequence of a fusion reaction, such as the
one represented by reaction 1
256
Fm100→ 140 Xe54+ 112 Pd46+41n0 (1)

Is that the binding energy per nucleon for each of the daughter
nuclei is larger then that of the original nucleus. As a result
fission is energetically favoured and is there for likely to occur,
with the consequent release of energy difference (called the Q-
vale of the reaction).
This energy difference is carried away as kinetic energy by the
decay products. In the case of reaction 1, the Q-vale is about 150
MeV, and the process can be represented as:

256
Fm100→ 140 Xe54+ 112 Pd46+41n0 +150MeV

In some cases a heavy nucleolus become unstable if it captures

an incident neutron or proton. If it then undergoes fission this
process is called induced fission. An example of induced fission
is the fission of 235U92 following neutron capture. This process is
basis of present energy generation from nuclear fission.
Q- what nucleus is formed in the capture of a neutron by 235U92 ?

The nucleus 236U92 is unstable and decays rapidly by fission. There are
many possible decays or nuclear decay channels for this process. One
possibility is:
1
n0 +235U92 → 236
U92→141Cs55 + 93Rb37 + 21n0 +180MeV (3)

The probability that a neutron will be captured by a 235U92 nucleus, and

hence that fission will take place, depends
critically upon the energy of the incident neutron. Most neutrons which
collide with the uranium nucleus simply
scatter elastically from the nucleus, without any reaction taking place. The
probability of capture is much higher
for a very low-energy neutron than for a high-energy neutron. For
instance, the probability that fission will be
induced by a 0.041eV neutron is about 600 times larger than for a
11MeV neutron, under otherwise identical
circumstances. Neutrons with energies of the order 0.041eV are known as
thermal neutrons. To understand this term we can draw on a result from
kinetic theory which tells us that at temperature T the average
translational kinetic energy per particle, is 3/2kT where k is Boltzmann’s
constant.
From this, we know that at T = 300K , 〈 εtran〉 = 0.04 eV in other word the
energy of neutrons in thermal equilibrium with the surrounding at room
temperature is about 0.04 eV .
235
Reaction 3 shows one of many possible fission paths of a nucleus U92
into two fragments.
The distribution of the masses of the fragments following the fission of
235
U92 by thermal neutrons is shown in fig 2. The vast majority
of 235U92 fissions result in one fragment with mass number A in
the region 90 to 100 and the other with a mass number in the
region 130 to 145. Usually, two, three, or four neutrons
accompany the two fission fragments with, on average, 2.42
neutrons emitted per 235U92
fission.
 8. Energy from nuclear fission

The energy released when a single heavy nucleus undergoes fission is

typically 100-2001MeV1—1about a hundred times greater than the
energy released when a nucleus undergoes α-decay, and millions of times
greater than the energy released per atom in a chemical reaction, such as
the burning of fossil fuels. This large energy release is the main
advantage of nuclear power. Other advantages include the fact that the
process does not consume valuable fossil fuels, and does not produce the
greenhouse gas, CO2.
All current nuclear reactor use uranium as fuel. Natural uranium has the
composition 0.72% 235U92 and 99.28% 238U92. It is the 235U92 that is
the desired isotope as it readily captures thermal neutrons and
undergoes fission. The isotope 238U92 makes little contribution
to the fission process. As a consequence of this, modern
reactors use enriched uranium fuel rods which have a 235U92
content of between 2% or 3%.
The fact that each fission induced by a single neutron gives rise to several
more neutron in the fission process, brings with it the possibility of a self
sustaining nuclear chain reaction. If some of the emitted neutrons produce
the fission of neighbouring uranium nuclei in a sample, then there will be a
nuclear chain reaction as shown schematically in fig.
Fig 6: schematically visualization
of the chain reaction in a sample
of 235U92 following the fission
of one 235U92 nucleus by a
neutron.

To harness the energy

release from fission, the
chain reaction must be
controlled as represented schematically in fig 7. in the controlled self-sustaining
chain reaction there must, on average, be just one new neutron that will produce
fission at each step.

Fig 7: schematic visualization of a controlled self-sustaining chain reaction

This will lead to a steady release of energy that can be used to produce
the steam that ultimately drives the generators in a power station.
But if too few of the neutrons produce further fission—because they have
been absorbed in non-fission reactions or have escaped from the surface
of the uranium sample then the process will fizzle out, no useful energy
is obtained and the reactor is said to be subcritical. On the other hand, if
too many neutrons produce further fission the reactor is said to be
supercritical—it will overheat and could melt-down or even explode,
as happened at Chernobyl. A practical nuclear reactor must maintain a
critical state, i.e. have a controlled balance between the subcritical and
supercritical state, and this is achieved by various factors that are
crucial in reactor design. The heart of the reactor, known as the core, is
where the fission reactions take place.
If a sample of fission material is small, neutrons will have a high
probability of escaping from the sample rather than being absorbed by
another nucleus, and the sample will therefore be subcritical. In a large
sample, neutrons released in the interior are very likely to be absorbed by
another nucleus before they can reach the surface and escape. The mass is
just large enough to ensure that enough neutron are absorbed to sustain a
chain reaction is called the critical mass. For and enriched uranium the
critical mass is about 15 kg – enough to make a sphere about 12cm in
diameter. If the mass exceeds this critical mass, the sample becomes super
critical and will explode. In principle the operation of a nuclear fission
 bomb simply requires this amount of fissile material to be concentrated
together.
What influences the upper limit on the size of a fuel rod ?
The two or more neutrons produced as a result of a fission have energies of
the order of MeV. As they are not thermal neutron, they will be ineffective in
producing further fissions to keep the chain reaction going. The function of
the moderator is two slow the fission neutrons down to thermal energies
before the enter another fuel rod, enabling them sustain a chain reaction.
Neutrons, being uncharged, can be loose energy by colliding with nuclei in
the moderator. The moderator is chosen to make this process as effective as
possible. We can draw a result from mechanics. Which tells us that the
optimum condition is when the incident and target particle have the same
mass. Energy would be still be lost from the neutron if it were to collide with
a heavier nucleus but this would not be ideal, as more collision would be
required to reduced the neutron energy by a given amount and so a larger
amount of moderator would be needed.
Ideally, a moderator should have be following property:
1. It’s atom should have a mass number as close to unity as possible, it’s
implies to be close to that of fission neutron.
2. It should be a solid or liquid, resulting in a high density of a target
nuclei.
3. It must note absorbed the chain reaction neutrons via chain neutron via
other nuclear reactions.
4. It must be chemically stable, cheap and abundant. No single martial
satisfied all these criteria perfectly, but to commonly used moderator
are graphite and water.
 Why is water is suitable material of moderator?

1. It’s atom should have a mass number as close to unity as possible, it’s
implies to be close to that of fission neutron.
2. It should be a solid or liquid, resulting in a high density of a target
nuclei.
3. It must note absorbed the chain reaction neutrons via chain neutron via
other nuclear reactions.
4. It must be chemically stable, cheap and abundant. No single martial
satisfied all these criteria perfectly, but to commonly used moderator
are graphite and water.

Water does less when on criterion 3,

Since there is some neutron absorption through the process:

1
0n + 1H1 → 2
H1 +γ
Graphite (carbon) does not satisfy criterion 1 very well but it has a high
specific heat and so is a good absorber of heat, in the event of an accident in
the cooling system, its temp. Would rise relivelty slowly. Also as a solid it
can not leak from the reactor. You should not need much convincing that,
notwithstanding criteria 1 and 2, liquid hydrogen itself is not a wise choice of
moderator. The combination a nuclear reactor and rocket fuel does not
comment itself.
The reactor core, as depicted in fig. 5, lacks any control over the numbers of
thermal neutrons. This would be dangerous. The reactor has to be maintained
in a critical condition for steady power production. There must be a means of
rapidly removing thermal neutrons if there were to be any danger of the
reactor becoming supercritical. This control of the rate the reaction is
exercised by control rods, which are made from, a material that absorbs
thermal neutrons very rapidly. The control rods can be moved in and out of
the core as rapidly as is required.
A commonly-used material for control rods is boron steel, where the boron in
the steel absorbs neutrons via the reaction:
10
B5+ 1n0 › 11
B5
The energy released in the fission appears first as kinetic energy of the fission
fragments and neutrons released, then as heat energy in the fuel rods, moderator
and control rods. The energy is extracted using a coolant. The function of the
coolant is two-fold. It must keep these components cools, so that they do not
melt and eventually evaporate, and it must also provide a means of transferring
the energy to a heat exchanger where water is heated to produce steam, which
then drives the turbines in the electricity generator. Nuclear power generation
differs in principle from coal- or gas-fired generation only in the source of
primary heat. Water or gases at high pressure are commonly used coolants.

Yet another type of fission reactor uses a smaller core with plutonium as the
fissile material, surrounded by a blanket of natural uranium. The principles of
this reactor are similar to those already discussed except that plutonium fission
does not require thermal neutrons this type of reactor is known as a fast reactor
or breeder reactor. The second name stems from the ability of this type of
reactor to generation plutonium within the uranium blanket, as fast neutrons
escaping from the core are captured. The rector can, in principle, be designed
either to be a net consumer or a net producer of plutonium. There are several
prototype fast breeder reactors in existence but there are some technological
problems with their operation and it is debatable whether they will ever become
commercially viable.

Fig 8 shows a schematic diagram of one type of nuclear reactor in common use
– the advanced gas-cooled reactor (AGR) .Another type, the pressurized water
reactor (PWR), is based on the same physical principles but uses pressurized
water as both coolant and moderator.
Fig 8: Schematic diagram of advanced gas-cooled reactor
9.ATOMIC ENERGY
It has been calculated that one pound of uranium 235, can produce as much
energy by fission as is produced by a explosion of 10,000 tons of gun powder.
The principle of fission is used in the construction of the atomic bomb.

An atomic bomb consists essentially of two pieces uranium or plutonium

each smaller than the critical size and a source of neutrons. These pieces are
brought together together automatically by a mechanical device when the
bombardment of neurons starts a chain reaction and a tremendous amount of
energy is released in an incredibly small time.

In the hydrogen bomb, the synthesis of a heavier atom like helium, from
hydrogen, results in the release of energy. The process of manufacture and the
actual details of atomic bomb and hydrogen bomb are closely guarded secrets.

Atomic energy is now being harnessed for industrial and other peaceful
uses by having a controlled release. The ordinary chain reaction is so vigrouous
and of so short a duration that the tremendous amount of energy released can
cause nothing but destruction. Fermi suggested a device of starting a chain
reaction n natural uranium containing with the help of moderators. A moderator
is an element of low atomic number like heavy hydrogen or carbon in the form
of graphite. These elements reduce considerably the speed of neutrons produced
due to fission of uranium nucleus and corresponding fission is thus very much
increased. It is, therefore not necessary to separate U235 from U238.

It is hoped that the atomic energy will open up fresh avenues and in time
will become much cheaper than the present price of electricity, coal or petrol.
10.Advantage and Disadvantage of Nuclear Fission
10.1 Advantages:

1. It helps minimize environmental pollution.

One of the biggest contributors to environmental pollution is fossil fuels,
which emit tons of carbon dioxide and other harmful chemicals. These, in
turn, can damage the environment and even harm the health of people. This
isn’t the case with nuclear fission. Nuclear plants produce large amounts of
nuclear fission energy while consuming only a relatively small amount of
fossil fuel in their operation. This means they can provide heat, electricity,
and power to consumers without producing lots of carbon dioxide emissions.

2.It helps reduce global warming.

If the world would switch to nuclear fission, there would be less greenhouse
gases (e.g. carbon dioxide and methane) in the atmosphere. As a result, the
greenhouse effect would be felt less and global warming would be stopped
or at least reduced. This, in turn, can protect humans from the catastrophes
that global warming would bring.

3. It can keep up with energy demands.

As mentioned above, nuclear plants can produce high amounts of nuclear
fission energy. This can be a good thing in today’s modern times, wherein
the demand for energy is steadily rising as more and more people drive cars,
build houses, use electronic devices, and do other energy-intensive activities.
10.2 Disadvantages:
1. It can be dangerous for employees.
Radiation, which is one of the by-products of nuclear fission, can be harmful to
people if they’re exposed to it at large amounts. Those who work in nuclear
plants are invariably exposed to radiation every day, which puts them at a
higher risk of developing illnesses.

2. It can be dangerous for communities.

Like any kind of process, nuclear fission creates waste by-products that have to
be disposed in one way or another. If they’re improperly disposed, these
materials won’t only pollute the environment but will also endanger the lives of
the people who live near the disposal sites. Nuclear plants are also highly
volatile; if an accident occurs, they can explode and affect the surrounding areas
and communities.

3. It has high initial expenses.

Nuclear plants need specialized equipment and machinery before they can
become fully functional and therefore require millions of dollars to be built. The
plants also need to put safety measures in place to protect their workers and the
surrounding areas, and these measures can cost a significant amount of money.
NUCLEAR
FUSION
11. INTRODUTION
In nuclear physics, nuclear fusion is a nuclear reaction in which two or more
atomic nuclei come close enough to form one or more different atomic nuclei
and subatomic particles (neutrons and/or protons). The difference in mass
between the products and reactants is manifested as the release of large amounts
of energy. This difference in mass arises due to the difference in atomic
"binding energy" between the atomic nuclei before and after the reaction.
Fusion is the process that powers active or "main sequence" stars, or other high
magnitude stars.
The fusion process that produces a nucleus lighter than iron-56 or nickel-62 will
generally yield a
net energy
release. These
elements have the
smallest mass per
nucleon and the
largest binding
energy per
nucleon,
respectively.
Fusion of light
elements toward
these releases
energy (an exothermic process), while a fusion producing nuclei heavier than
these elements, will result in energy retained by the resulting nucleons, and the
resulting reaction is endothermic. The opposite is true for the reverse process,
nuclear fission. This means that the lighter elements, such as hydrogen and
helium, are in general more fusable; while the heavier elements, such as
uranium and plutonium, are more fissionable. The extreme astrophysical event
of a supernova can produce
enough energy to fuse nuclei into elements heavier than iron.
Following the discovery of quantum tunneling by physicist Friedrich Hund, in
1929 Robert Atkinson and Fritz Houtermans used the measured masses of light
elements to predict that large amounts of energy could be released by fusing
small nuclei. Building upon the nuclear transmutation experiments by Ernest
Rutherford, carried out several years earlier, the laboratory fusion of hydrogen
isotopes was first accomplished by Mark Oliphant in 1932. During the
remainder of that decade the steps of the main cycle of nuclear fusion in stars
were worked out by Hans Bethe. Research into fusion for military purposes
began in the early 1940s as part of the Manhattan Project. Fusion was
accomplished in 1951 with the Greenhouse Item nuclear test. Nuclear fusion on
a large scale in an explosion was first carried out on November 1, 1952, in the
Ivy Mike hydrogen bomb test.

11.1 PROCESS

The origin of the energy released in fusion of light elements is due to

interplay of two opposing forces, the nuclear force which combines together
protons and neutrons, and the Coulomb force, which causes protons to repel
each other. The protons are positively charged and repel each other but they
nonetheless stick together, demonstrating the existence of another force referred
to as nuclear attraction. This force, called the
strong nuclear force, overcomes electric
repulsion at very close range. The effect of
this force is not observed outside the
nucleus, hence the force is called a short-
range force. The same force also pulls the
nucleons (neutrons and protons) together
allowing ordinary matter to exist. Light
nuclei (or nuclei smaller than iron and
nickel), are sufficiently small and proton-
poor allowing the nuclear force to overcome the repulsive Coulomb force. This
is because the nucleus is sufficiently small that all nucleons feel the short-range
attractive force at least as strongly as they feel the infinite- range Coulomb
repulsion. Building up these nuclei from lighter nuclei by fusion thus releases
the extra energy from the net attraction of these particles. For larger nuclei,
however, no energy is released, since the nuclear force is short-range and
cannot continue to act across still larger atomic nuclei.
Thus, energy is no longer released when such nuclei are made by fusion;
instead, energy is required as input to such processes. Fusion reactions create
the light elements that power the stars and produce virtually all elements in a
process called nucleosynthesis. The fusion of lighter elements in stars releases
energy and the mass that always accompanies it. For example, in the fusion of
two hydrogen nuclei to form helium, 0.7% of the mass is carried away from the
system in the form of kinetic energy of an alpha particle or other forms of
energy, such as electromagnetic radiation.

Research into controlled fusion, with the aim of producing fusion power
for the production of electricity, has been conducted for over 60 years. It has
been accompanied by extreme scientific and technological difficulties, but has
resulted in progress. At present, controlled fusion reactions have been unable to
produce break-even (self-sustaining) controlled fusion. Workable designs for a
reactor that theoretically will deliver ten times more fusion energy than the
amount needed to heat plasma to the required temperatures are in development
The ITER facility is expected to finish its construction phase in 2019. It will
start commissioning the reactor that same year and initiate plasma experiments
in 2020, but is not expected to begin full deuterium-tritium fusion until 2027.

It takes considerable energy to force nuclei to fuse, even those of the

lightest element, hydrogen. This is because all nuclei have a positive charge due
to their protons, and as like charges repel, nuclei strongly resist being pushed
close together. Accelerated to high speeds, they can overcome this electrostatic
repulsion and be forced close enough such that the attractive nuclear force is
stronger than the repulsive force. As the strong force grows very rapidly once
beyond that critical distance, the fusing nucleons "fall" into one another and
result is fusion and net energy produced.

The fusion of lighter nuclei, which creates a heavier nucleus and often a
free neutron or proton, generally releases more energy than it takes to force the
nuclei together; this is an exothermic process that can produce self-sustaining
reactions. The US National Ignition Facility, which uses laser-driven inertial
confinement fusion, was designed with a goal of break-even fusion.
 The first large-scale laser target experiments were performed in June
2009 and ignition experiments began in early 2011. Energy released in most
nuclear reactions are much larger than in chemical reactions, because the
binding energy that holds a nucleus together is far greater than the energy that
holds electrons to a nucleus. For example, the ionization energy gained by
adding an electron to a hydrogen nucleus is 13.6 eV—less than one-millionth of
the 17.6 MeV released in the deuterium–tritium (D–T) reaction shown in the
adjacent diagram. The complete conversion of one gram of matter would
release 9×1013 joules of energy. Fusion reactions have an energy density many
times greater than nuclear fission; the reactions produce far greater energy per
unit of mass even though individual fission reactions are generally much more
energetic than individual fusion ones, which are themselves millions of times
more energetic than chemical reactions. Only direct conversion of mass into
energy, such as that caused by the annihilator collision of matter and antimatter,
is more energetic per unit of mass than nuclear fusion.
11.2 Requirements

Details and supporting references on the material in this section can be

found in textbooks on nuclear physics or nuclear fusion. A substantial energy
barrier of electrostatic forces must be overcome before fusion can occur. At
large distances, two naked nuclei repel one another because of the repulsive
electrostatic force between their positively charged protons. If two nuclei can be
brought close enough together, however,
the electrostatic repulsion can be overcome by the quantum effect in which
nuclei can tunnel through columb forces.
When a nucleon such as a proton or neutron is added to a nucleus, the
nuclear force attracts it to all the other nucleons of the nucleus (if the atom is
small enough), but primarily to its immediate neighbours due to the short range
of the force. The nucleons in the interior of a nucleus have more neighboring
nucleons than those on the surface. Since smaller nuclei have a larger surface
area-to volume ratio, the binding energy per nucleon due to the nuclear force
generally increases with the size of the nucleus but approaches a limiting value
corresponding to that of a nucleus with a diameter of about four nucleons. It is
important to keep in mind that nucleons are quantum objects. So, for example,
since two neutrons in a nucleus are identical to each other, the goal of
distinguishing one from the other, such as which one is in the interior and which
is on the surface, is in fact meaningless, and the inclusion of quantum
mechanics is therefore necessary for proper calculations.

The electrostatic force, on the other hand, is an inverse-square force, so a

proton added to a nucleus will feel an electrostatic repulsion from all the other
protons in the nucleus. The electrostatic energy per nucleon due to the
electrostatic force
thus increases
without limit as
nuclei atomic
number grows.

The net result

of the opposing
electrostatic and strong nuclear forces is that the binding energy per nucleon
generally increases with increasing size, up to the elements iron and nickel, and
then decreases for heavier nuclei. Eventually, the binding energy becomes
negative and very heavy nuclei (all with more than 208 nucleons, corresponding
to a diameter of about 6 nucleons) are not stable. The four most tightly bound
nuclei, in decreasing order of binding energy per nucleon, are 62Ni, 58Fe,
56
Fe,and 60Ni. Even though the nickel isotope, 62Ni, is more stable, the iron
isotope 56Fe isan order of magnitude more common. This is due to the fact that
there is no easy way for stars to create 62Ni through the alpha process.

An exception to this general trend is the helium-4 nucleus, whose binding

energy is higher than that of lithium, the next heaviest element. This is because
protons and neutrons are fermions, which according to the Pauli exclusion
principle cannot exist in the same nucleus in exactly the same state. Each proton
or neutron energy state in a nucleus can accommodate both a spin up particle
and a spin down particle. Helium-4 has an anomalously large binding energy
because its nucleus consists of two protons and two neutrons, so all four of its
nucleons can be in the ground state. Any additional nucleons would have to go
into higher energy states. Indeed, the helium-4 nucleus is so tightly bound that it
is commonly treated as a single particle in nuclear physics, namely, the alpha
particle .The situation is similar if two nuclei are brought together. As they
approach each other, all the protons in one nucleus repel all the protons in the
other. Not until the two nuclei actually come close enough for long enough can
the strong nuclear force
take over (by way of
tunneling). Consequently,
even when the final
energy state is lower,
there is a large energy
barrier that must first be
overcome. It is called the
Coulomb barrier.

The Coulomb
barrier is smallest for
isotopes of hydrogen, as their nuclei contain only a single positive charge. A
diproton is not stable, so neutrons must also be involved, ideally in such a way
that a helium nucleus, with its extremely tight binding, is one of the products.

Using deuterium-tritium fuel, the resulting energy barrier is about 0.1

MeV. In comparison, the energy needed to remove an electron from hydrogen
is 13.6 eV, about 7500 times less energy. The (intermediate) result of the fusion
is an unstable 5He nucleus, which immediately ejects a neutron with 14.1 MeV.
The recoil energy of the remaining 4He nucleus is 3.5 MeV, so the total energy
liberated is 17.6 MeV. This is many times more than what was needed to
overcome the energy barrier.

The reaction cross section σ is a measure of the probability of a fusion

reaction as a function of the relative velocity of the two reactant nuclei. If the
reactants have a distribution of velocities, e.g. a thermal distribution, then it is
useful to perform an average over the distributions of the product of cross
section and velocity. This average is called the 'reactivity', denoted <σv>. The
reaction rate (fusions per volume per time) is <σv> times the product of the
reactant number densities.
If a species of nuclei is reacting with itself, such as the DD reaction, then the
product must be replaced by increases from virtually zero at room temperatures
up to meaningful magnitudes at temperatures of 10–100 keV. At these
temperatures, well above typical ionization energies (13.6 eV in the hydrogen
case), the fusion reactants exist in a plasma state. The significance of as a
function of temperature in a device with a particular energy confinement time is
found by considering the Lawson criterion. This is an extremely challenging
barrier to overcome on Earth, which explains why fusion research has taken
many years to reach the current high state of technical prowess.
11.3 Important reactions
11.3.1 Astrophysical reaction chains

At the temperatures and densities in stellar cores the rates of fusion

reactions are notoriously slow. For example, at solar core temperature (T ≈15
MK) and density (160 g/cm3), the energy release rate is only 276 μW/cm3—
about a quarter of the volumetric rate at which a resting human body generates
heat. Thus, reproduction of stellar core conditions in a lab for nuclear fusion
power production is completely impractical. Because nuclear reaction rates
depend on density as well as temperature and most fusion scemes operate at
relatively low densities, those methods are strongly dependent on higher
temperatures. The fusion rate as a function of temperature (exp(−E/kT)), leads
to the need to achieve temperatures in terrestrial reactors 10–100 times higher
temperatures and in stellar interiors: T ≈ 0.1–1.0×109 K.

11.3.2 Criteria and candidates for terrestrial reactions

In artificial fusion, the primary fuel is not constrained to be protons and

higher temperatures can be used, so reactions with larger cross-sections are
chosen. Another concern is the production of neutrons, which activate the
reactor structure radio logically, but also have the advantages of allowing
volumetric extraction of the fusion energy and tritium breeding. Reactions that
release no neutrons are referred to as aleuronic. To be a useful energy source, a
fusion reaction must satisfy several criteria. It must: Be exothermic

This limits the reactants to the low Z (number of protons) side of the curve of
binding energy. It also makes helium 4He the most common product because of
its extraordinarily tight binding, although 3He and 3H also show up.

11.3.3 Involve low atomic number (Z) nuclei

This is because the electrostatic repulsion must be overcome before the nuclei
are close enough to fuse.
Have two reactants

At anything less than stellar densities, three body collisions are too improbable.
In inertial confinement, both stellar densities and temperatures are exceeded to
compensate for the shortcomings of the third parameter of the Lawson criterion,
ICF's very short confinement time.

Have two or more products

This allows simultaneous conservation of energy and momentum without

relying on the electromagnetic force.

Conserve both protons and neutrons

The cross sections for the weak interaction are too small.

Few reactions meet these criteria. The following are those with the largest cross
sections

(1) 2D1 + 3T1 → 4

H2 ( 3.5Mev ) + n0 ( 14.1 MeV )

(2) 2D1 + 2D1 → 3

T1 ( 1.01 MeV ) + p+ ( 3.02 MeV )

(2ii) 2
D1 + 2D1 → 3
H2 ( 0.82 MeV ) + n0 ( 2.45MeV )

(3) 2
D1 + 3H2 → 4
H2 ( 3.6 MeV ) + p+ ( 14.7MeV )

(4) 3
T1 + 3T1 → 4
H2 + 2 n0 + 11.3 MeV

(5) 3
H2 + 3H2 → 4
H2 + 2 p+ + 12.9 MeV

(6) 3
H2 + 3T1 → 4
H2 + p+ + n0 + 12.1 MeV 57 %
(6ii) 3
H2 + 3T1 → 4
H2 (4.8 MeV) + 2D1 (9.5 Mev) 42 %

(7i) 2
D1 + 6Li3 → 2 4H2 + 22.4 MeV

(7ii) 2
D1 + 6Li3 → 3
H2 + 4H2 + n0 + 2.56 MeV

(7iii) 2
D1 + 6Li3 → 7
Li3 + p+ + 5.0 MeV

(7iv) 2
D1 + 6Li3 → 7
Be4 + n0 + 3.4 MeV

(8) p+ + 6Li3 → 4
H2 ( 1.7 MeV ) + 3H2 ( 2.3 MeV )

(9) 3
H2 + 6Li3 → 2 4H2 + p+ + 16.9 MeV

(10) p+ + 11B5 → 3 4H2 + 8.7 MeV

For reactions with two products, the energy is divided between them in inverse
proportion to their masses, as shown. In most reactions with three products, the
distribution of energy varies. For reactions that can result in more than one set
of products, the branching ratios are given.

The latter of the two equations was unknown when the U.S. conducted the
Castle Bravo fusion bomb test in 1954. Being just the second fusion bomb ever
tested (and the first to use lithium), the designers of the Castle Bravo "Shrimp"
had understood the usefulness of Lithium-6 in tritium production, but had failed
to recognize that Lithium-7 fission would greatly increase the yield of the
bomb. While Li-7 has a small neutron cross-section for low neutron energies, it
has a higher cross section above 5 MeV. The 15 Mt yield was 150% greater
than the predicted 6 Mt and caused unexpected exposure to fallout.

To evaluate the usefulness of these reactions, in addition to the reactants, the

products, and the energy released, one needs to know something about the cross
section. Any given fusion device has a maximum plasma pressure it can sustain,
and an economical device would always operate near this maximum. Given this
pressure, the largest fusion output is obtained when the temperature is chosen so
that <σv>/T2 is a maximum. This is also the temperature at which the value of
the triple product nTτ required for ignition is a minimum, since that required
value is inversely proportional to <σv>/T2 (see Lawson criterion). (A plasma is
"ignited" if the fusion reactions produce enough power to maintain the
temperature without external heating.) This optimum temperature and the value
of <σv>/T2 at that temperature is given for a few of these reactions in the
following table.

12 Methods for achieving fusion

12.1 Thermonuclear fusion

If matter is sufficiently heated (hence being plasma), fusion reactions may

occur due to collisions with extreme thermal kinetic energies of the particles.
Thermonuclear weapons produce what amounts to an uncontrolled release
fusion energy. Controlled thermonuclear fusion energy has yet to be achieved.

12.2 Inertial confinement fusion

Inertial confinement fusion (ICF) is a method aimed at releasing fusion energy

by heating and compressing a fuel target, typically a pellet containing
deuterium and tritium.

12.3 Inertial electrostatic confinement

Inertial electrostatic confinement is a set of devices that use an electric field to

heat ions to fusion conditions. The most well known is the fusor. Starting in
1999, a number of amateurs have been able to do amateur fusion using these
homemade devices. Other IEC devices include: the Polywell, MIX POPS and
Marble concepts.
12.4 Beam-beam or beam-target fusion

If the energy to initiate the reaction comes from accelerating one of the nuclei,
the process is called beam-target fusion; if both nuclei are accelerated, it is
beam-beam fusion.

Accelerator-based light-ion fusion is a technique using particle accelerators to

achieve particle kinetic energies sufficient to induce light-ion fusion reactions.
Accelerating light ions is relatively easy, and can be done in an efficient
manner—requiring only a vacuum tube, a pair of electrodes, and a high-voltage
transformer; fusion can be observed with as little as 10 kV between the
electrodes. The key problem with accelerator-based fusion (and with cold
targets in general) is that fusion cross sections are many orders of magnitude
lower than Coulomb interaction cross sections. Therefore, the vast majority of
ions expend their energy emitting bremsstrahlung radiation and the ionization
of atoms of the target. Devices referred to as sealed-tube neutron generators are
particularly relevant to this discussion. These small devices are miniature
particle accelerators filled with deuterium and tritium gas in an arrangement
that allows ions of those nuclei to be accelerated against hydride targets, also
containing deuterium and tritium, where fusion takes place, releasing a flux of
neutrons. Hundreds of neutron generators are produced annually for use in the
petroleum industry where they are used in measurement equipment for locating
and mapping oil reserves.

12.5 Muon-catalyzed fusion

Muon-catalyzed fusion is a fusion process that occurs at ordinary temperatures.

It was studied in detail by Steven Jones in the early 1980s. Net energy
production from this reaction has been unsuccessful because of the high energy
required to create muons, their short 2.2 µs half-life, and the high chance that a
muon will bind to the new alpha particle and thus stop catalyzing fusion.
Other principles

Some other confinement principles have been investigated.

Antimatter-initialized fusion uses small amounts of antimatter to trigger a tiny

fusion explosion. This has been studied primarily in the context of making
nuclear pulse propulsion, and pure fusion bombs feasible. This is not near
becoming a practical power source, due to the cost of manufacturing antimatter
alone.

Pyroelectric fusion was reported in April 2005 by a team at UCLA. The

scientists used a pyroelectric crystal heated from −34 to 7 °C (−29 to 45 °F),
combined with a tungsten needle to produce an electric field of about
25 gigavolts per meter to ionize and accelerate deuterium nuclei into an erbium
deuteride target. At the estimated energy levels, the D-D fusion reaction may
occur, producing helium-3 and a 2.45 MeV neutron. Although it makes a useful
neutron generator, the apparatus is not intended for power generation since it
requires far more energy than it produces.

Hybrid nuclear fusion-fission (hybrid nuclear power) is a proposed means of

generating power by use of a combination of nuclear fusion and fission
processes. The concept dates to the 1950s, and was briefly advocated by Hans
Bethe during the 1970s, but largely remained unexplored until a revival of
interest in 2009, due to the delays in the realization of pure fusion. Project
PACER, carried out at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) in the mid-
1970s, explored the possibility of a fusion power system that would involve
exploding small hydrogen bombs (fusion bombs) inside an underground cavity.
As an energy source, the system is the only fusion power system that could be
demonstrated to work using existing technology. However it would also require
a large, continuous supply of nuclear bombs, making the economics of such a
system rather questionable.
13. FUSION POWER
Fusion power is a form of power generation in which energy is generated by using
fusion reactions to produce heat for electricity generation. Fusion reactions fuse
two lighter atomic nuclei to form a heavier nucleus, releasing energy. Devices
designed to harness this energy are known as fusion reactors.

The fusion reaction normally takes place in a plasma of deuterium and tritium
heated to millions of degrees. In stars, gravity contains these fuels. Outside of a
star, the most researched way to confine the plasma at these temperatures is to use
magnetic fields. The major challenge in realising fusion power is to engineer a
system that can confine the plasma long enough at high enough temperature and
density.

As a source of power, nuclear fusion has several theoretical advantages over

fission. These advantages include reduced radioactivity in operation and as waste,
ample fuel supplies, and increased safety. However, controlled fusion has proven
to be extremely difficult to produce in a practical and economical manner.
Research into fusion reactors began in the 1940s, but as of 2017, no design has
produced more fusion energy than the energy needed to initiate the reaction,
meaning all existing designs have a negative energy balance.[1]

Over the years, fusion researchers have investigated various confinement concepts.
The early emphasis was on three main systems: z-pinch, stellarator and magnetic
mirror. The current leading designs are the tokamak and inertial confinement (ICF)
by laser. Both designs are being built at very large scales, most notably the ITER
tokamak in France, and the National Ignition Facility laser in the USA.
Researchers are also studying other designs that may offer cheaper approaches.
Among these alternatives there is increasing interest in magnetized target fusion
and inertial electrostatic
14. Nuclear fusion in stars
The most important fusion process in nature is the one that powers stars,
stellar nucleosynthesis. In the 20th century, it was realized that the energy
released from nuclear fusion reactions accounted for the longevity of the Sun
and other stars as a source of heat and light. The fusion of nuclei in a star,
starting from its initial hydrogen and helium abundance, provides that energy
and synthesizes new nuclei as a byproduct of the fusion process. The prime
energy producer in the Sun is the fusion of hydrogen to form helium, which
occurs at a solar-core temperature of 14 million kelvin. The net result is the
fusion of four protons into one alpha particle, with the release of two positrons,
two neutrinos (which
changes two of the protons into neutrons), and energy. Different reaction chains
are involved, depending on the mass of the star. For stars the size of the sun or
smaller, the proton-proton chain dominates. In heavier stars, the CNO cycle is
more important.

As a star uses up a substantial fraction of its hydrogen, it begins to

synthesize heavier elements. However the heaviest elements are synthesized by
fusion that occurs as a more massive star undergoes a violent supernova at the
end of its life, a process known as supernova nucleosynthesis.
15. Nuclear fusion in the Sun
The energy from the Sun - both heat and light energy - originates from a
nuclear fusion process that is occurring inside the core of the Sun. The specific
type of fusion that occurs inside of the Sun is known as proton-proton fusion.

Inside the Sun, this process begins with protons (which is simply a lone
hydrogen nucleus) and through a series of steps, these protons fuse together and
are turned into helium. This fusion process occurs inside the core of the Sun,
and the transformation results in a release of energy that keeps the sun hot. The
resulting energy is radiated out from the core of the Sun and moves across the
solar system. It is important to note that the core is the only part of the Sun that
produces any significant amount of heat through fusion (it contributes about
99%) The rest of the Sun is
heated by energy transferred
outward from the core.

Steps
The overall process of proton-
proton fusion within the Sun
can be broken down into
several simple steps. A visual
representation of this process
is shown in Figure 1. The
steps are:

1. Two protons within the

Sun fuse. Most of the
time the pair breaks
apart again, but
sometimes one of the
protons transforms into
a neutron via the weak
nuclear force. Along
with the transformation into a neutron, a positron and neutrino are
 formed. This resulting proton-neutron pair that forms sometimes is
known as deuterium.
2. A third proton collides with the formed deuterium. This collision results
in the formation of a helium-3 nucleus and a gamma ray. These gamma
rays work their way out from the core of the Sun and are released as
sunlight.
3. Two helium-3 nuclei collide, creating a helium-4 nucleus plus two extra
neutrons. Technically, a beryllium-6 nuclei forms first but is unstable and
thus disintegrates into the helium-4 nucleus.

The final helium-4 atom has less mass than the original 4 protons that came
together (see E=mc2). Because of this, their combination results in an excess of
energy being released in the form of heat and light that exits the Sun, given by
the mass-energy equivalence. To exit the Sun, this energy must travel through
many layers to the photosphere before it can actually emerge into space as
sunlight. Since this proton-proton chain happens frequently - 9.2 x 1037 times
per second - there is a significant release of energy. Of all of the mass that
undergoes this fusion process, only about 0.7% of it is turned into energy.
Although this seems like a small amount of mass, this is equal to 4.26 million
metric tones of matter being converted to energy per second. Using the mass-
energy equivalence, we find that this 4.26 million metric tones of matter is
equal to about 3.8 x 1026 joules of energy released per second!
16. Advantages and Disadvantages of Nuclear Fusion
16.1 The Advantages of Nuclear Fusion

Nuclear fusion doesn’t create harmful waste.

Nuclear fission creates nuclear waste that must be stored properly to keep
people safe. This shouldn’t be confused with nuclear fusion, which only has the
creation of helium as a byproduct. Helium is non-toxic, safe, and won’t create
the same environmental damage that the burning of fossil fuels creates.

There is an infinite amount of fuel for nuclear fusion.

The main ingredient of nuclear fusion, which is deuterium, is distilled from
ocean water. Every other component of the process is either easily found or
easily made. The end result is an infinite amount of fuel that can be used to
create energy resources for the entire planet.

It is incredibly inexpensive to create.

The estimated cost of providing energy through nuclear fusion is just $0.03
per kilowatt hour. This makes it one of the cheapest forms of energy that
humans have ever discovered.

It is a low risk form of energy.

If you’re using nuclear fission, then you’re splitting atoms and that creates the
chance of a dangerous chain reaction occurring. Constant exposure to fossil
fuels and the energy products made from them can also have a negative impact
on personal health. Not only is nuclear fusion easy to control, it’s much safer
than almost any other major form of energy creation that is used in the world
today.

Global warming can still be negated without energy loss.

Helium is not one of the greenhouse gases that are believed to be contributing
to changing weather cycles. This means the planet cancontinue to heal and we
don’t have to sacrifice energy levels to make that happen.
16.2 The Disadvantages of Nuclear Fusion

It requires almost as much energy to create nuclear fusion as the energy

itcreates.
To fuse two atoms together, high levels of heat are required. In order to create
this heat, a large energy investment must be made. This means the reaction
from nuclear fusion produces just barely more than is required to make it, so
with our current technology, it is not really a plausible energy creation method.

Creating the infrastructure for nuclear fusion is expensive.

It may only cost $0.03 per kilowatt hour to create energy from nuclear fusion,
but that doesn’t take into account the construction costs necessary to create the
utility infrastructure that would be required. The investment necessary would be
in the trillions of dollars if looked at on a global scale, which means most
economies wouldn’t be able to afford the investment.

There may be unanticipated consequences to using nuclear fusion.

The fact is that we don’t really know much about this form of energy creation.
What would happen to the planet in 50 years with an increased level of helium
in the atmosphere? Are there health dangers that we simply do not know yet
and cannot predict?

This industry still requires innovation.

The high levels of heat that are required to create nuclear fusion mean that we
need materials available that can withstand those temperatures to create energy.
With our current technology, we have no knowledge of a specific material that
can withstand the heat necessary to create fusion.

Heat can be just as deadly as radiation.

Although there may be less of a fallout risk and other environmental risks may
also be reduced, high heat levels are just as deadly as anything else. Nuclear
fusion just changes what risks we must take on in order to have the energy
levels we want.
17. DIFFERENCE BETWEEN FISSION AND FUSION

Nuclear Fission Nuclear Fusion

Fission is the splitting of a Fusion is the fusing of two or

Definition large atom into two or more more lighter atoms into a
smaller ones. larger one.

Natural
Fission reaction does not Fusion occurs in stars, such as
occurrence of
normally occur in nature. the sun.
the process

Few radioactive particles are

produced by fusion reaction,
Byproducts of Fission produces many highly
but if a fission "trigger" is
the reaction radioactive particles.
used, radioactive particles will
result from that.

Critical mass of the substance High density, high

Conditions and high-speed neutrons are temperature environment is
required. required.

Extremely high energy is

required to bring two or more
Energy Takes little energy to split two
protons close enough that
Requirement atoms in a fission reaction.
nuclear forces overcome their
electrostatic repulsion.

The energy released by fission

is a million times greater than
Energy that released in chemical
Released reactions, but lower than the
energy released by nuclear
fusion.
The energy released by fusion
is three to four times greater
than the energy released by
fission.
 Nuclear Fission Nuclear Fusion

One class of nuclear weapon is One class of nuclear weapon

Nuclear a fission bomb, also known as is the hydrogen bomb, which
weapon an atomic bomb or atom uses a fission reaction to
bomb. "trigger" a fusion reaction.

Fusion is an experimental
Energy Fission is used in nuclear
technology for producing
production power plants.
power.

Uranium is the primary fuel
Fuel
used in power plants.
Hydrogen isotopes
(Deuterium and Tritium) are
the primary fuel used in
experimental fusion power
plants.
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