Compare And Contrast Nuclear Fission And Nuclear Fusion

1414 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Fusion and fission quiz

In the world that we live, Protons and neutrons make up a nucleus, which is the foundation of nuclear science. Fission and fusion involves the dispersal and combination of elemental nucleus and isotopes, and part of nuclear science is to understand the process behind this phenomenon. Nuclear fusion and nuclear fission are different types of reactions that release energy due to the presence of high-powered atomic bonds between particles found within a nucleus.This essay will compare and contrast Fusion ans Fission and to discuss such aspects as sustainability, feasibility, dangers and benefits (among others).

Comparison and contraste of Nuclear fusion and Nuclear fission

Nuclear fusion is the reaction in …show more content…

In a typical nuclear reaction involving 235U and a neutron:

Fusion and Fission Physics
Atoms are held together by two of the four fundamental forces of nature the weak and strong nuclear bonds. The total amount of energy held within the bonds of atoms is called binding energy. The more binding energy held within the bonds, the more stable the atom. Moreover, atoms try to become more stable by increasing their binding energy.
The nucleon of an iron atom is the most stable nucleon found in nature, and it neither fuses nor splits. This is why iron is at the top of the binding energy curve. For atomic nuclei lighter than iron and nickel, energy can be extracted by combining iron and nickel nuclei together through nuclear fusion. In contrast, for atomic nuclei heavier than iron or nickel, energy can be released by splitting the heavy nuclei through nuclear fission.
The notion of splitting the atom arose from New Zealand-born British physicist E. Rutherford works, which is also led to the discovery of the …show more content…

The process performed by nuclear power plants produce radiations that do not lead to any hazardous effects to the nature. With this, people can assure that the environment is safe from nuclear fission.
With nuclear fission, people can use an energy source alternative that is free from CO¬2¬. It is certainly a set up technique to produce electrical energy without having to give off Carbon Dioxide and it is the greatest advantage it provides. Furthermore, this method will not generate some other forms of toxins into the atmosphere, such as smog.

Fusion is an experimental technology for producing power. Therefore, the only product that is created during the nuclear fusion process is helium, which is not a green house gas. This is a great for the environment and our atmosphere because it does not contribute anything to the global warming problem. Also this product is safe and non-toxic, and it is one of the biggest benefits of using nuclear fusion, rather than nuclear fission. Nuclear waste can be very harmful to the environment and to people, and nuclear fusion does not cause

Show More
Related

  • What Are the Positive and Negative Effects of the Manhattan Project?

    679 Words  | 2 Pages

    The development of atomic bomb boosted the level of understanding in terms of physics and chemistry of that particular time period. Physicists started to realize that stable nuclei can be converted to unstable nuclei. Through such process, they discovered that heavy nuclei can undergo nuclear fission. While testing, they added a neutron to an isotope of Uranium 235. This resulted Uranium 235 to become unstable and break down into Barium and Krypton, releasing two to three more neutrons. The breakdown of Uranium 235 is called “fission”. When the released neutrons attach to other isotopes of Uranium 235, this can result in a chain reaction of fission. For every generation of fission, the amount of fission is doubled, and this resulted in an extreme outburst of energy. The amount of energy released by this process is related to Einstein’s famous equation “E=mc^2” (Wolf).

    Read More

  • The Pros And Cons Of Nuclear Waste

    728 Words  | 2 Pages

    Radioactive Waste One of the most talked about opposition to nuclear fission is the radioactive waste it produces. Radioactive waste is what is left behind after using a reactor to make electricity. There are two levels of waste, low and high, but both are regulated by the Department of Energy and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. High level waste is made up of fuel that’s been used directly in the reactor, which is highly radioactive but can still be disposed of. Low-level waste is the contaminated items that have been exposed to radiation.

    Read More

  • Should We Have Dropped the Atomic Bomb?

    1528 Words  | 4 Pages

    Physicists found out that among the pieces of a split atom were newly produced neutrons. These might encounter other uranium nuclei, cause them to split, and start a chain reaction. If the chain reaction was limited to a moderate pace, a new source of energy could be the result. The chain reaction could release energy rapidly and with explosive force. Leo Szilard, Eugene Wigner, and Edward Teller, Hungarian-born physicists, were frightened by the possibility that Germany might produce an atomic bomb.

    Read More

  • Biography of Robert Burns Woodward

    865 Words  | 2 Pages

    physics. The work of Ernest Rutherford, H. G. J. Moseley, and Niels Bohr on atomic

    Read More

  • Compare Nuclear Fusion vs. Nuclear Fission

    667 Words  | 2 Pages

    Cost and availability of fuel is a considerable factor when dealing with nuclear power. Fission requires an element that can be easily split in a particle accelerator, such as uranium or plutonium. Fusion, on the other hand, uses isotopes of hydrogen atoms, specifically deuterium and tritium, that can be obtained from ordinary water. Uranium ores occur naturally in many parts of the world but must go through a costly purification process before used as fuel. The unprocessed ore contains approximately 99.3% uranium-238, a non-fissionable isotope of uranium, and only about 0.7% of U-235 required for fission. One hydrogen atom out of 6700 appears as deuterium, a naturally occurring isotope of hydrogen with an extra neutron, and can easily be separated from the rest. Uranium-235 is a non-renewable resource that will eventually run out, much like the fossil fuels. The abundance of deuterium and lithium provide a virtually unlimited supply of fuel for nuclear fusion. Therefore, nuclear fusion seems to be the better choice.

    Read More

  • Nuclear Core

    3236 Words  | 7 Pages

    The concept of nuclear fission within the earth started in the fifties. Geophysicists began to question whether natural occurring nuclear fission was possible. It seemed that it was a definite possibility and eventually, empirical evidence presented itself. In 1972 at the Oklo uranium mine in western Africa, a natural nuclear fission reactor was discovered deep within the earth. It was later determined that this reactor had been burning for almost two million years (Earth’s Core). The discovery provided an answer to the possibility of naturally occurring nuclear fission in the earth. The answer was yes. This led to more questions, however. What were the implications of such a process occurring naturally inside of the Earth? As time progressed, scientists learned more about naturally occurring reactors and new theories developed. Through observations of other planets, and observing the Earth in respect to the solar system, some bold new theories arose.

    Read More

  • The Manhattan Project: Changing the World Beyond Warfare

    1411 Words  | 3 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Nuclear Power Essay

    698 Words  | 2 Pages

    Nuclear energy is produced during the process named nuclear fission or nuclear fusion. The development of nuclear energy started in the 20th century and there is now worldwide recognition for using nuclear energy. Popular countries that operates nuclear power are United States, France, Japan, and Russia, the nuclear energy generates up to 6% of the world’s electricity supplies. Even though the energy is mostly used by many countries, but it may causes side effect to the living things in the environment. (WNA, 2012)

    Read More

  • Fission Or Fusion

    1301 Words  | 3 Pages

    energy out of a nuclear reaction than we put in. First, the energy per fission

    Read More

  • Positive Effects of Nuclear Power

    938 Words  | 2 Pages

    The use of nuclear energy has increased in the United States since 1973. Nuclear energy's share of U.S. electricity generation has grown from 4 percent in 1973 to 19 percent in 1998. This is excellent news for the environment. Nuclear energy and hydropower are the cleanest large-scale means of electricity production. Since nuclear power plants do not burn fuel, they emit no combustion byproducts—like carbon dioxide—into the atmosphere (www.nei.org). Nuclear power can come from the fission of Uranium, plutonium or thorium or the fusion of hydrogen into helium. Today uranium (U-235 and U-238) is most commonly used in the production of nuclear energy. The expa...

    Read More

  • Nuclear Fusion

    826 Words  | 2 Pages

    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?

    Read More

  • John Dalton Research Paper

    1167 Words  | 3 Pages

    Dalton stated that atoms form elements meaning different elements would have atoms of different properties. He went on to believe that atoms did not have the ability to be created, divided or destroyed by a chemical process but the discovery of nuclear fusion and nuclear fission made amendments to his principle. ("Famous Scientists - John Dalton", 2017) These two reactions cause the particles found within a nucleus to release energy due to the attendance of high-powered atomic bonds. Nuclear fission has the ability to split an atom into two or more smaller, lighter atoms while fusion creates a larger, heavier atom when two or more fuse together.

    Read More

  • Advantages and Disadvantages of Nuclear Energy

    1323 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • The Impact of Nuclear Power

    1546 Words  | 4 Pages

    Nuclear power, the use of exothermic nuclear processes to produce an enormous amount of electricity and heat for domestic, medical, military and industrial purposes i.e. “By the end of 2012 2346.3 kilowatt hours (KWh) of electricity was generated by nuclear reactors around the world” (International atomic energy agency Vienna, 2013, p.13). However, with that been said it is evident that the process of generating electricity from a nuclear reactor has numerous health and environmental safety issues.

    Read More

  • Atomic Energy

    1685 Words  | 4 Pages

    Scientists from earlier times helped influence the discoveries that lead to the development of atomic energy. In the late 1800’s, Dalton created the Atomic Theory which explains atoms, elements and compounds (Henderson 1). This was important to the study of and understanding of atoms to future scientists. The Atomic Theory was a list of scientific laws regarding atoms and their potential abilities. Roentagen, used Dalton’s findings and discovered x-rays which could pass through solid objects (Henderson 1). Although he did not discover radiation from the x-rays, he did help lay the foundations for electromagnetic waves. Shortly after Roentagen’s findings, J.J. Thompson discovered the electron which was responsible for defining the atom’s characteristics (Henderson 2). The electron helped scientists uncover why an atom responds to reactions the way it does and how it received its “personality”. Dalton’s, Roentagen’s and Thompson’s findings helped guide other scientists to discovering the uses of atomic energy and reactions. Such applications were discovered in the early 1900’s by using Einstein’s equation, which stated that if a chain reaction occurred, cheap, reliable energy could b...

    Read More

More about Compare And Contrast Nuclear Fission And Nuclear Fusion

Open Document