New Reply

fusion of the isotopes of hydrogen

 
Share Thread Thread Tools
Nov27-10, 09:05 PM   #1
 

fusion of the isotopes of hydrogen


Hi

I assume that two hydrogen atoms fuse together to form one helium atom during nuclear fusion. But what happens when other isotopes of hydrogen fuse together? What happens to two deuterium atoms when they fuse together? Tritium? I'm assuming that they would form an isotope of helium, but which isotope, if there are more than one (I can't remember), and if the helium isotope it forms does not have more than two neutrons, what happens to the other two (or three?) neutrons and what else is released during the reaction (energy, forces, other particles if any)?
PhysOrg.com
PhysOrg
physics news on PhysOrg.com

>> As chaos celebrates its 50th birthday, biophysicist develops a new method to visualize it
>> Novel features of helium-3 superfluidity discovered with new SQUID detector chip
>> Physics of 'green waves' could make city traffic flow more smoothly
Nov27-10, 09:52 PM   #2
 
Two H+ atoms will fuse to for Deuterium, emiting a positron and a neutrino as one proton becomes a neutron. Deuterium then fuses with a hydrogen nucleus to form Helium-3 usually, which can then fuse with another Helium-3 nucleus to form Helium 4 and the emission of two protons.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proton-proton_chain

When 2 deuterium atoms fuse, they become a Helium-4 nucleus.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deuterium_burning
New Reply

Tags
fusion, tritium
Thread Tools


Similar Threads for: fusion of the isotopes of hydrogen
Thread Forum Replies
Fusion reaction between Hydrogen and deuterium Introductory Physics Homework 0
Approximately 1.0 X 10^34 J of energy is available from fusion of hydrogen(continued) Introductory Physics Homework 0
Muon-Catalyzed Fusion of Metallic Hydrogen High Energy, Nuclear, Particle Physics 3
Are there fissionable isotopes of any element with short-lived radioactive isotopes? Nuclear Engineering 48
Hydrogen-Boron Plasma Toroid Fusion Atomic, Solid State, Comp. Physics 4