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When H and H Nuclei Are Brought Together They Form He Nucleus With The Release of Energy

1. Nuclear fusion is an energy-producing process where two lighter nuclei fuse together to form a heavier nucleus, releasing energy. This occurs in the sun and stars. 2. On Earth, nuclear fusion aims to fuse deuterium and tritium nuclei, producing helium and a neutron along with a large amount of energy. Very high temperatures over 100 million degrees Celsius are required to overcome nuclear repulsion. 3. Magnetic confinement is used to isolate the hot plasma and achieve fusion conditions. The most advanced system is the tokamak, which uses magnetic fields to confine the plasma away from the walls of the vacuum chamber.

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Sukhwinder Singh Gill
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42 views14 pages

When H and H Nuclei Are Brought Together They Form He Nucleus With The Release of Energy

1. Nuclear fusion is an energy-producing process where two lighter nuclei fuse together to form a heavier nucleus, releasing energy. This occurs in the sun and stars. 2. On Earth, nuclear fusion aims to fuse deuterium and tritium nuclei, producing helium and a neutron along with a large amount of energy. Very high temperatures over 100 million degrees Celsius are required to overcome nuclear repulsion. 3. Magnetic confinement is used to isolate the hot plasma and achieve fusion conditions. The most advanced system is the tokamak, which uses magnetic fields to confine the plasma away from the walls of the vacuum chamber.

Uploaded by

Sukhwinder Singh Gill
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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NUCLEAR FUSION

"The process of forming heavy nucleus from


two or more light nuclei in which energy is released
is called "NUCLEAR FUSION.“
or
The combining of two lighter nuclei to form a
relatively heavier nucleus with the release of
energy is called "NUCLEAR FUSION."

When 1H2 and 1H3 nuclei are brought together


they form 2He4 nucleus with the release of
energy.

1
H2
+ 1
H3
 2
He 4
+0
n 1
+Energy.
Nuclear Fusion is the energy-producing
process which takes place continuously in the sun
and stars.
In the core of the sun at temperatures of
10-15 million degrees Celsius, Hydrogen is
converted to Helium providing enough energy to
sustain life on earth.
For energy production on earth different
fusion reactions are involved.
The most suitable reaction occurs between
the nuclei of the two heavy forms (isotopes) of
Hydrogen - Deuterium (D) and Tritium (T);
eventually reactions involving just Deuterium or
Deuterium and Helium (3He) may be used.
1. Energy release
during a fusion
process in greater
than that of fission.

2. To produce a fusion process a very high


temperature is required to over come repulsion
between      positive nuclei.
If light nuclei are forced together, they will
fuse with a yield of energy because the mass of
the combination will be less than the sum of the
masses of the individual nuclei.
If the combined nuclear mass is less than
that of iron at the peak of the binding energy
curve, then the nuclear particles will be more
tightly bound than they were in the lighter
nuclei, and that decrease in mass comes off in
the form of energy according to the Einstein
relationship.
For elements heavier than iron, fission will
yield energy.
Advantages of Fusion
•A vast, new source of energy.
•Fuels are plentiful.
•Inherently safe since any malfunction results in
a rapid shutdown.
•No atmospheric pollution leading to acid rain or
"greenhouse" effect.
•Radioactivity of the reactor structure, caused by
the neutrons, decays rapidly and can be
minimised by careful selection of low-activation
materials. Provision for geological time-span
disposal is not needed.
Fuels
Deuterium is abundant as it can be extracted
from all forms of water. If all the world's
electricity were to be provided by fusion power
stations, Deuterium supplies would last for
millions of years.
Tritium does not occur naturally and will be
manufactured from Lithium within the machine.
Lithium, the lightest metal, is plentiful in the
earth's crust. If all the world's electricity were to
be provided by fusion, known reserves would last
for at least 1000 years.
Quantities
For example, 10 grams of Deuterium which
can be extracted from 500 litres of water and 15g
of Tritium produced from 30g of Lithium would
produce enough fuel for the lifetime electricity
needs of an average person in an industrialised
country.
Plasma Confinement
Since a plasma consists of two types of
charged particles, ions (+ve) and electrons (-
ve), magnetic fields can be used to isolate the
plasma from the vessel walls.
In a magnetic field the particles readily
spiral along the field lines but diffuse only slowly
across them. The most promising magnetic
confinement systems are toroidal (ring-shaped)
and, of these, the most advanced is the
Tokamak. JET is the largest Tokamak in the
world.
The Tokamak
In a Tokamak, plasma is heated in a toroidal
vessel and confined away from the vessel walls
by magnetic fields.
The basic components of the Tokamak's magnetic
confinement system are:-
•The toroidal field which is produced by coils
surrounding the vacuum vessel.
•The poloidal field produced by a current in the
plasma; the plasma current is induced by
transformer action.
Additional coils, not shown in the diagram,
around the outside of the vacuum vessel, shape
and position the plasma.
Schematic diagram of a Tokamak.
Conditions for a Fusion Reaction
Temperature
Fusion reactions occur at a sufficient rate only at
very high temperatures. Over 100 million deg. C
is needed for the Deuterium-Tritium reaction
whilst other reactions require even higher
temperatures.
The hot plasma must be well isolated away from
material surfaces in order to avoid cooling the
plasma and releasing material atoms (impurities)
that would contaminate and further cool the
plasma.
In the Tokamak system, the plasma is isolated by
magnetic fields.
Energy Confinement
The efficiency of the magnetic insulation is
measured by a quantity called the Energy
Confinement Time. This is the characteristic time-
scale for plasma cooling when the source of heat
is removed.
Density
The density of fuel ions must be sufficiently large
for fusion reactions to take place at the required
rate. The fusion power generated is reduced if
the fuel is diluted by impurity atoms released
from surrounding material surfaces or by the
accumulation of Helium "ash" from the fusion
reaction. As fuel ions are burnt in the fusion
process they must be replaced by new fuel and
the Helium ash must be removed.
Numerical values for D-T Reaction
•Plasma temperature: (T) 100-200 million deg. C
•Energy Confinement Time: (t) 1-2 seconds
•Central Density in Plasma: (n) 2-3 x 1020
particles m-3 (approx. 1/1000 gram m-3)

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