What is the difference between fission and fusion answers?
Fusion takes place when two low-mass isotopes, typically isotopes of hydrogen, unite under conditions of extreme pressure and temperature. Fission is the splitting of a heavy, unstable nucleus into two lighter nuclei, and fusion is the process where two light nuclei combine together releasing vast amounts of energy.
What is fission and example?
Fission is the splitting of an atomic nucleus into two or more lighter nuclei accompanied by energy release. The energy released by nuclear fission is considerable. For example, the fission of one kilogram of uranium releases as much energy as burning around four billion kilograms of coal.
Why is cold fusion so difficult?
The big difficulty is that because the initial nuclei are all positively charged, they are strongly repelled as they approach one another. Therefore, only nuclei having a high kinetic energy approach closely enough to fuse.
How much energy would a fusion reactor produce?
At present, fusion devices produce more than ten megawatts of fusion power. ITER will be capable of producing 500 megawatts of fusion power. Although this will be on the scale needed for a power station, there are still some technological issues to address before a commercial power plant can operate.
What is the benefit of using Fusion?
The potential advantages of nuclear fusion energy are manifold, as it represents a long-term, sustainable, economic and safe energy source for electricity generation. Fuel is inexpensive and abundant in nature, while the amount of long-lived radioactive waste and greenhouse gases produced through fusion are minimal.
Why is deuterium used in fusion?
The current best bet for fusion reactors is deuterium-tritium fuel. This fuel reaches fusion conditions at lower temperatures compared to other elements and releases more energy than other fusion reactions. When deuterium and tritium fuse, they create a helium nucleus, which has two protons and two neutrons.