Nuclear fusion Definition and 202 Threads

I am a high school senior debating between these two majors. In high school, I enjoyed both Mechanics and E&M very much so its really tough for me to decide which of the two engineering fields I'll like more. Whichever field I pick, I am also planning to minor or double in Physics and Computer...

Usually people talk about magnetic confinement schemes or some such thing for fusion reactions presumably because the pressure and temperatures would vaporize/destroy all conceived material vessels too quickly. I would like to hear someone talk about the limits of materials in this realm. So...

Wikipedia says that solar core has 15 millions of Kelvins ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_core ), what translates into ~1.4 keV energy per degree of freedom. For nuclear fusion we need to take the two nuclei to distance of range of nuclear forces: ~1fm (...

How could an element and all its atoms die? With nuclear fusion they combine atoms, so are they also making elements?...is it possible to make an element shooting the right number of p+,n, & e- and then contain it/save it for later?

I'm having trouble understand a passage in our book. The author claims that the reaction ##^2H+^2H \to ^4He + \gamma## is unlikely since the ##Q## value is large (##23.8## MeV) which happens to be greater than both the neutron and proton separation energies. This seem very counter intuitive...

I know that to achieve fusion one has to satisfy the Lawson criterion. My question is: can fusion be achieved only by generating very high pressures but keeping the system at room temperature, or does it necessarily require a combination of both high pressures and high temperatures? If by some...

Homework Statement Assuming that we could generate Australia's electricity from a fusion reactor, that converted hydrogen to iron and turned the energy into electricity with 100% efficiency, what mass of fuel would it use per year? You may assume that this fusion reaction converts 1% of the...

Is nuclear fusion fusion possible on Earth naturally or can it be possible in an Earth in a parallel universe??

Question 1. c) (ii) on this AQA paper... http://filestore.aqa.org.uk/subjects/AQA-PHYA5-1-QP-JUN13.PDF The solution is here http://filestore.aqa.org.uk/subjects/AQA-PHYA5C-W-MS-JUN13.PDF So I know that the binding energy will be the mass defect so the value of energy on the left hand side is...

<< Disclaimer by PF -- You may need to get government permits to operate a reactor that produces neutrons and radiation, and this could potentially be a dangerous project >>[/color] Hello, I recently finished building a functioning IEC fusion reactor and posted a video of its construction and...

Hi folks, IMO, it should be possible to initiate a nuclear fusion of H1-H2 and H2-H2 in crystals of Lithium Hydride induced by gamma photons emitted form decay of Na24. Could anyone please verify if the following is correct? By using nuclear photodisintegration effect, we need a gamma photon...

Homework Statement Ok, these questions are very simple but they are really bugging me and I would greatly appreciate an explanation. Question 1 is "which of the following elements must have been made in stars". The options are hydrogen, helium, carbon, oxygen and iron. Question 2 is "which of...

has anyone looked into the possibility of nuclear fusion without neutrons? it would make IEC fusion easier without all the neutrons running around making things radioactive and wearing them down. I am wondering if p-B11 (proton-boron11) fusion is really an aneutronic fuel. deuterium-Helium3...

I make no promises: I came up with this idea for a new kind of nuclear fusion reactor. I do not want to give off any clues to how it works so I am going to be as vague as possible. I think it could be a viable means to nuclear fusion becoming... well, breakeven. I have by no means tested it...

Hello everyone, I have a question about nuclear fusion. Deuterium-Tritium fusion generates 3.4 * 1014 J/kg when you have a mixture of around 400 grams of deuterium and 600 grams of tritium. My question is: what is the rate at which this fusion reaction takes place? Is there a formula for the...

Hello everyone, I have a question about nuclear fusion. The simplest form of nuclear fusion is the fusion of 4 hydrogen atoms into 1 helium atom. Jupiter has a mass close to 1.9 * 1027 kg and around 90% of its mass consists out of hydrogen -> 0.9 * 1.9 * 10 27 = 1.71 * 1027 kg. I know that it...

Homework Statement In a particular nuclear reaction, a neutron moving at 3.6×105ms−1 has a 70% chance of initiating a nuclear fusion reaction. Which of the following options is a possible probability of a neutron moving at 2.2×105ms−1 initiating the same nuclear reaction? I wouldn't be asking...

I do think that the idea I had recently and one that I have been pondering about since is something mundane. Specifically because its so simple. Yet its an abstract one that I would like to know more about it from someone who can take the time to think about it and write a paragraph or two. In...

I would like to share this recent article by Linda Gunter: http://www.counterpunch.org/2015/12/11/the-false-promise-of-nuclear-fusion/Are renewables really the future of an increasingly energy hungry human civilization, as mentioned by Linda? Or can we use HITACHI's PRISM reactors to solve the...

Hello everyone and happy new year! I would like to ask why it takes so long to create nuclear fusion power plants. The world's first nuclear fission power plant to generate electricity was started in 1954, some nine years after the nuclear fission bomb was detonated. Now we are more than 50...

this question might be a bit stupid, but if the plasma in the fusion reactor has very high temperature, then how do we make the chamber not melt? i mean, not to join? contact? each other(chamber wall and plasma). do we use magnetic field to make the distance? then how do we do that?

Hi, On Wikipedia (here), we can find that in following channels of nuclear fusion reactions: H-2 + H-3 -> He-4 (3.5 MeV) + n (14.1 Mev) H-2 + H-2 -> H-3 (1.01 MeV) + H-1 (3.02 MeV) H-2 + H-2 -> He-3 (0.82 MeV) + n (2.45 MeV) H-2 + He-3 -> He-4 (3.6 MeV) + H-1 (14.7 MeV) The released energy is...

Here's an interesting article (from the magazine Science) about the Wendelstein 7-X Stellarator which is due to be switched on at the end of the month- 'The bizarre reactor that might save nuclear fusion' http://www.sciencemag.org/content/350/6259/369.full Construction video-

I was wondering if you could use a very strong magnetic field to produce nuclear fusion. The basic idea is a spherical cavity containing Deuterium (and possibly tritium) nuclei whose walls will be electromagnets whose fields slowly increase in strength and will repel the nuclei and thus the ball...

I am interested in applying plasma physics in nuclear fusion program in France or Germany . Both are good in this field , but where i can get good scholarships and i am from electrical engineering background so where i have better chance of getting admitted.

Hey guys, I'm working on a homework problem about nuclear fusion in stars and am..stuck on the first step: calculating the temperature needed for protons to come within 2 fm of one another and overcome Coulomb repulsion. 1. Homework Statement Given that the protons have an average kinetic...

Hi I have a really weird idea that is robbing me of my sleep. One of the many problems with fusion seems to be how to harvest the energy released by the reaction efficiently. So as I was slowly drifting into sleep I was wondering, how we usually harvest energy from reactions, and the piston...

I finished my bachelors in electronics and communication in 2014 from India. Since then I have worked as an Application Engineer in the VLSI domain at a reputed company. I would like to transition to Nuclear Fusion Physics. I am planning to give my Physics GRE in October 2015. Some background...

My physics SATII book states that this is not an example of nuclear fusion: 4/2 He + 27/13 Al ⇒30/15 P +1/0 n If this isn't fusion then what is it? (The top number of the division is the mass; the bottom is the atomic number)

Greetings I am not a physicist myself, so please forgive me, if my question/proposition will sound naif. I noticed some articles about accelerating electrons using laser and glass gratings: http://phys.org/news/2013-09-chip.html http://phys.org/news/2013-10-particles-compact-particle.html I...

Hello, I was just brainstorming for futuristic inventions with context for a sci-fi, high fidelity game (because I'm too cool to revise for exams) - and I thought of one, but my physics and engineering knowledge is at best sketchy when it comes to gravity and nuclear fusion combinations, I was...

Homework Statement (a) What processes changes atomic number by 1? What are the favourable conditions? How do you tell a neutrino is involved? How can we use this to understand the mass of this particle? (b) Use semi empirical mass formula to explain why odd-odd isobars are unlikely, while...

So as we all know (or at least I assume) Global Warming is real and happening, I am a teen, 17, and not trying to get answers for homework or anything like that. I just want to know, is it possible to create fusion using the temperature found at active Geo-thermal sites to reach the temp...

I was curious about why the plasma inside a modern fusion reactor (ITER, DIII-D) is modeled with a D-shaped cross section. From what I've read, it is more stable that way, but WHY is it more stable than a similar plasma flow with a circular cross-section? Thanks in advance (and sorry if I...

So I was reading this article about http://www.wired.com/2013/09/plutonium-238-problem/all/ and it got me thinking about possible substitutes. This is what I came up with. You make thin sheets of beryllium mixed with some kind of alpha particle emitter. You also make thin sheets of some...

Ok, so nuclear fusion is given by the formula E=MC2, where E = Energy, M = Rest mass and C = 299792458. To my understanding, this means that if two protons collide under the incredibly high speeds/temperatures(like they do in the sun), they will fuse, having reduced mass and that mass is...

What courses can I pursue after my undergrad education that will enable me to work on next gen nuclear technologies? What kinds of people work in these areas and what career paths do they choose? I've read a lot about the different kinds of people working on Gen 4 reactors(LFTRs, TWRs) and...

In the news today, several articles about Lockheed's ambitious five or ten year plan. eg this one from the Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/capital-business/wp/2014/10/15/nuclear-fusion-energy-in-a-decade-lockheed-martin-is-betting-on-it/ This one from Aviation Week...

Hello, I'm 15 and very interested in physics. I'm building a safe nuclear fusion reactor as a science project. (I know how to safely handle high voltage and radiation) I have a question about the power supply. First off, I know that fusion takes around 40 Kilo-volts and it needs to have a...

Hello All, In this recent Navy publication, a team of researchers said they have discovered cusp confinement. This could be a major step towards fusion power. I am working on a write up of this publication. I am trying to understand their inferometry data. As far as I can tell, the...

I am a Senior in High School and I would like guidance in selecting a major. I've been most seriously considering Aeronautical, Mechanical, Chemical, and Materials engineering. Maybe Engineering Physics, I don't know too much about it though. Is nuclear engineering a major some places? What...

Hi, I'm in my final year at an Australian high school and I plan on completing at Bachelors in Science Majoring in Physics as my undergraduate course. My career aspiration is one day work researching nuclear fusion, though I am happy to work with fission reactors, they're just not my first...

Homework Statement During fusion of hydrogen to helium, 4 billion kg of matter are converted to energy each second. What fraction of the Sun’s total mass is lost each year to this process? Homework Equations None. The Attempt at a Solution First: Convert how many seconds are there in a year 1...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-12007965" Can anyone shed any light on this? Will work on building ITER be delayed or postponed because of this wrangling? They are talking about absolutely huge amounts of money which is maybe politically unpalatable for many european...

Hi, I’m a hobbyist writer with a slight science fiction slant to my stories. Currently my work involves some reference to the much expected nuclear fusion power. I have been doing some research online, but since I’m not a physicist this naturally resulted in a number of questions. I’m not...

General consensus on Cold Fusion better known as "Low Energy Nuclear Reactions" LENR? I was wondering for those that know. What is the general consensus on Cold Fusion which is actually not cold fusion at all but "Low Energy Nuclear Reactions" LENR? The term cold fusion was made by the media...

Hello. I know that most fission reactors boils water to move a turbine like this one. Is the same for a future nuclear fusion power plant, produce heat and boil water? Some light about this please.

Nuclear fusion and the "end of energy problems" claim Hi, Is it me, or does the following claim seem naive? "If we can achieve fusion here on earth, then the world's energy problem will be solved." As I understand it, our energy problems are more to do with greed and waste than...

I want to know the work of strong force during fusion of two atoms (say hydrogen), It is known that atoms need to get close enough to fuse but what does strong force especially "color charges" or "gluon" perform which causes fusion?

Homework Statement How much energy, in joules, is released when one mole of helium-4 nuclei is formed from its individual protons and neutrons? Homework Equations 2p + 2n ----> He-4 (p is proton n is neutron) The Attempt at a Solution Book sucks at explaining...