The Industrial Revolution sparked a need for large sources of energy. Human and animal labor could not provide the power necessary to power industrial machinery, railroads, and ships. The steam engine and later the internal combustion engine provided the bulk of the energy required by the industrial age. Today most nations are still heavily reliant on energy that comes from combustion. Usually coal, petrolium, and natural gas are used. Some hydroelectric, wind power, and nuclear fission sources are used, but in the US they accounted for less than 20% of the total energy consumption in 1997 (1). Many experts are worried that natural resources such as coal and petrolium are being depleted faster than they are being replenished, which could result in an energy crisis. Nuclear fission produces highly radioactive waste that is expensive to dispose of properly. Nuclear fusion reactors would produce much less radioactive waste and would be more efficient than nuclear fission, but to date there have been no nuclear fusion reactors that have generated usable energy output. Why is fusion power, which could be very beneficial, so hard to come by?
Nuclear fusion occurs when two atomic nuclei collide with enough energy to bind together to form one nucleus. Nuclear fusion occurs in the core of our sun, and is the source of its tremendous heat. In the sun hydrogen nuclei, single protons, fuse together and form a new nucleus. In the conversion, a small amount of mass is converted into energy. It is this energy that heats the sun.
For nuclear fusion to occur, nuclei must have very high kinetic energies that will exceed the electrostatic repulsion between the nuclei. The extremely high temperature of the sun causes electrons to be stripped o...
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Power from nuclear fusion reactors would be a welcome achievement for the 21st century, and at the current rate of progress it seems likely that before the end of the new century energy will be available from nuclear fusion. It is estimated that it will take over a decade from the time a sustainable fusion reaction is achieved before fusion power will be available for use. But the attention being devoted to research is strong, the experiments are coming closer to fruition, and we are coming closer to having an almost limitless supply of energy.
Bibliography
1) United States Department of Energy web site: http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/sep/us/pecg.html (Accessed 11-22-2000)
2) Fundamentals of Physics Extended: Fifth Edition. David Hanley, Robert Resnick, Jearl Walker. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc, New York, Chichester, Brisbane, Toronto, Singapore. 1997.
Nuclear fusion is a reaction in which two lighter nuclei combine together to form a heavier and stable nucleus. This type of reaction is given by nucleus having less mass. However, nuclear fusion doesn’t take place in normal condition. The temperature requirement form nuclear fusion is around the order of 109 degree Celsius. Hence it doesn’t take place on earth. It mainly takes place on stars. Nuclear fusion reaction is an endothermic reaction. In this context we have also discussed about nuclear fusion being the main source of stellar energy. In biology, the term fusion means combining of two nuclei to form a bigger nucleus. Similarly, this can be compared to the nuclear fusion reactions.
In a fusion, two atoms’ nuclei join to create a much heavier nucleus.1 The two atoms collide and together make a new atom while releasing neutrons in the form of energy. Imagine this as two cars in a head-on collision. When they collide, they stick together (not forming a new atom like in nuclear fusion, but let’s pretend,) and when they crash, some of the bumper flies off. The atoms collide and neutrons, like the bumper, fly off in the form of energy.
Nuclear energy must be a consideration for the future with the rapidly depleting supply of fossil fuels. This type of energy can be created through nuclear fission and nuclear fusion. Nuclear fission is the splitting of a heavy atom into two or more parts, releasing huge amounts of energy. The release of energy can be controlled and captured for generating electricity. Nuclear fusion involves bombarding hydrogen atoms together to form helium. In the long run, nuclear fusion has greater potential than fission.
Environmental Goals."IAEA BULLETIN. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Nov. 2012. "Fusion Energy." Culham Centre for Fusion Energy. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Nov. 2012.
Considering the fact that fusion possesses environmental and safety advantages over all current alternatives for electricity sources, its development is a very important component in any strategy designed to allow economic growth to continue world-wide in the longer term, without generating major global environmental deterioration. Thus the case for investing a small part of our current output in the development of fusion is an aspect of the more general case for sustainable development. Involvement in the world-wide programme to bring fusion technology to a commercially usable state is a wise contribution to sustainable development. Fusion technology brought to completion would be an asset of the utmost value to give to our descendants.
2000-Present- Andrea Rossi- (Not really cold fusion) but he has developed a device called an E-Cat that involves Nickel and Hydrogen reactions. These small nuclear reactions emit rather significant amounts of energy. Rossi himself doesn’t want to associate his device with “Cold Fusion’ due to the fact that the field itself has such negativity involved. (Thanks Nuclear Physicists) Another important thing to mention is that no radioactive materials are used and or produced, only metals like Nickel and some Copper are produced. Any radiation that is produced in the nuclear reaction will only last for a maximum lifetime of 20 minutes, this is due to the fact that the radiation itself is thermalized. (Generally this reaction is considered “Cold Fusion” but Rossi believes that it is actually Low-Energy Nuclear Reaction or LENR)
Currently, plants use fission reactions, which is the bombardment of atoms with neutrons to split atoms into new materials, releasing the energy which we have all come to rely on. Fusion is essentially the opposite of fission. Fusion is the combination of atoms to make new elements, what is happening at the core of our sun currently. When atoms are fused, a massive amount of energy is released, making the cost of producing nearly free once fusion is obtained. One other large advantage of fusion energy is the by-products produced by the chain reaction in fusion. The second most abundantly used power source in fission reactors behind uranium is plutonium. Plutonium could be created by the fusion reactions, giving people not only energy from the initial reaction, but even more fuel to use for fission reactors
The issue of the world’s energy crisis is becoming a topic of everyday conversation, we are constantly surrounded by statements that coal and natural gas could run out in as soon as 50 years time. One possible solution to this problem is to get our energy from nuclear plants instead of the current reactors which use fossil fuels. Currently, nuclear power stations use the process of nuclear fission or induced fission; this is the process of firing neutrons at Uraniam-235 causing it to split into two lighter elements, causing a large amount of energy and high energy neutrons to be released.
Deuterium is inexpensively extracted from water, and tritium is produced during the reaction itself via lithium. Deuterium and lithium are placed within a containment field created by two large electromagnets, with water below, and the two are heated until they become highly ionized gas, or plasma. From there, the heat is maintained until the two sets of plasma come together, or fuse, and release a burst of energy that surpasses all other methods, including nuclear fission. Nuclear fusion is a safer method of nuclear power, as the isotopes are proven stable both alone and together, are not exceedingly radioactive, and do not pose any known threat of pollution. Alongside this, nuclear fusion is an “intrinsically safe [fusion] reactor operation” as a combination of the “sensitive temperature-pressure balance requirement for reactions to occur” and the minimal amount of material necessary to produce energy ensures that “even in the event of a loss of coolant or power-failure, there is no danger of runaway processes caused by uncontrolled chain-reactions, avoiding the possibility of major accidents.” (“Fusion” 10) Nuclear fusion can be considered a method of harnessing renewable solar energy, and easily complements not only the existing solar initiatives, but those of wind and hydroelectric power as well. (“Fusion”) Currently, nuclear
Nuclear energy is an alternative to using fossil fuels. Although nuclear energy is also nonrenewable, it has a much lower amount of air pollution, as well as a lower risk of affecting the climate through global warming. There are three main kinds of nuclear energy, nuclear fusion, nuclear fission, and radioactive decay. This report will explain how nuclear fusion works, as well as explaining the advantages and disadvantages of nuclear fusion.
an initial energy of about 1 MeV will induce fission is rather low, but can be
Fusion is quite different then fission. However, it is also a big part of nuclear physics. Fusion is the process that makes power for the sun and stars. It is the reaction that involves two similar atoms combining to form a different atom.
When this happens, the benefits to society will be plenteous. This will make way to a nearly unlimited power supply that will have no harmful emissions or decay, resulting in a cleaner and friendlier environment, as well as providing cheaper energy costs, safer energy productions, and providing almost anyone with the ability to have and use energy (The Energy Source.) Many people in today’s society are looking to cleaner energy options to improve our environmental imprint and to reverse carbon emissions. Using nuclear fusion to create energy will essentially eliminate all sources of energy that produce carbon emissions like propane, coal, and even gasoline by reason of electric automobiles. Nuclear fusion will severely reduce the cost of energy for people by virtue of that it is practically unlimited in its supply, making it easier for people to obtain electrical energy. There would be no worry of energy consumption due to how much the reactor would be producing . Though the research and the product itself are not currently available, the finished product will be something that will help mankind for all of
Moreover, the fusion of two nuclei of hydrogen results into the formation of helium. The process of fusion is a never ending process on the surface of sun.
Whilst there are clear arguments for and against nuclear energy, the future is promising; with scientists working on potential breakthroughs such as nuclear fusion, and the design of newer and better and reactors. Nuclear fusion is a reaction which causes the nuclei of atoms to collide and form a new atomic nucleus. It is essentially what heats the sun and stars and would produce no long-lived radioactive waste.22 If scientists could control the process of atomic fusion then it could become a never ending energy source for future use.