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Physicsissuef
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Why more energy is released in fusion than fission?
Practically, you cannot get fusion, starting from Iron.
Total newb here, so please point out my lack of understanding.
Can elements heavier than iron actually fuse? I thought the way the heavier elements were formed was when a star was about to collapse and iron (or others) picked up stray protons or alphas and became the next element in the line.
Ok, how far off am I?
Ah yes, silly me. When saying fuse, I was thinking of similar atoms(ie iron + iron), not just adding particles (which is, of course, also fusion). Is it possible to get heavier elements to fuse together, or would the energy required be too large?
webelements.com said:Only very small amounts of of element 106, seaborgium, have ever been made. The first samples were made through a nuclear reaction involving fusion of an isotope of californium, 249Cf, with one of oxygen, 18O.
18O + 249Cf -> 263106Sg + 4 1n
Isolation of an observable quantity of seaborgium has never been achieved.
More recently, other isotopes have been made at the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI) in Switzerland using neon atoms to bombard californium isotopes.
248Cf + 22Ne -> 266Sg + 4 1n
webelements.com said:Only a few atoms of darmstadtium have ever been made, initially through a nuclear reaction involving fusion of an isotope of lead, Pb, with one of nickel, Ni.
208Pb + 62Ni -> 269Ds + 1n