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ShibbyMan1
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Hi simple question here, I was wondering if matter (actual particles) are lost from the fusion process.
The masses of nuclei in general are less than the sums of the masses of its constituents.ShibbyMan1 said:Ah I see, so what is all of this I keep reading about? Such as "mass is converted into energy during fusion"
There seems to be a lot of layman who believe actual particles(electrons, protons, neutrons) are lost during the fusion process.
If there is mass being lost, what is this "mass" if it it not physical particles?
mfb said:Mass of a system is not the sum of masses of its particles. Binding energy contributes to mass as well, and this binding energy changes.
As an example, a helium nucleus consists of 2 neutrons and two protons but it is lighter than two isolated neutrons plus two isolated protons together.
mathman said:The masses of nuclei in general are less than the sums of the masses of its constituents.
Example: neutron = 1.0087, H1 = 1.0078, H2 = 2.0141, while n+H1 = 2.0165. The difference is the energy created by the fusion - photon.
ShibbyMan1 said:see a proton as physical mass, and kinetic energy or radiation as energy.
ShibbyMan1 said:matter/antimatter collision in the sense that some physical mass is being converted or released as energy
ShibbyMan1 said:is this conversion happening?
My take on this is for your average everyday layman that has been taught fundamentals but nothing more.ChrisVer said:What's a physical mass?
ChrisVer said:That random person is actually wrong. In the case of the mass we are talking about (rest mass), the definition is making it clear that it's equivalent to energy, so I cannot see them as something different.
The energy released from fusion reaction depends on the reaction. For example in the [itex]p+p \rightarrow ^2H + e^+ + \nu_e[/itex], the energy goes to the products as kinetic energy.
No no chunk of proton is lost- the energy of the system changes.
You convert some mass (I drop the term physical) , the mass defect, into energy.
Kinetic energy only if it is "internal", like particles moving around in a box. If the whole box moves this does not change its mass, as the energy is taken in the frame where the box is at rest.ShibbyMan1 said:So basically, Rest mass is just the total energy of something, regardless or whether it is physical or kinetic/potential etc?
The type of energy is not fixed here, right. For fusion reactions, photons and kinetic energy of produced particles are the most common results.ShibbyMan1 said:So when you say mass is converted into energy it could be anything and is not describing any specific thing.
The sun is constantly losing up quarks and electrons in the fusion reactions. Those particles are really gone - they stop existing. Down quarks and neutrinos are produced in the processes.rootone said:The 'lost' mass/energy is not actually 'gone' of course, the particles involved do still exist, but they are 'lost' in the sense that they no longer are a part of the star.
ShibbyMan1 said:Hi simple question here, I was wondering if matter (actual particles) are lost from the fusion process.
newjerseyrunner said:Remember that energy can translate to mass. A proton moving is slightly more massive than a proton that's perfectly still. A proton moving near the speed of light is way more massive than a proton that's perfectly still.
Fusion occurs when two or more atomic nuclei combine to form a heavier nucleus. This process releases a large amount of energy.
No, particles are not lost during fusion. The total number of particles (protons and neutrons) before and after the fusion reaction remains the same.
During fusion, the particles involved (usually hydrogen nuclei) undergo a series of collisions and interactions, eventually fusing together to form a new, heavier nucleus.
Particles play a crucial role in fusion reactions as they are the building blocks of atoms. During fusion, the particles release a large amount of energy, which can be harnessed for various applications.
No, fusion reactions do not result in the loss of particles. The total number of particles before and after the reaction remains the same. However, some mass may be converted into energy according to Einstein's famous equation, E=mc^2.