In fact, for fusion to occur, the temperature of the hot gas or plasma needs to be at least 150,000,000 degrees Celsius (☌). The fusion of the nuclei has to happen quickly so that the repulsion of the charges does not have time to stop it from happening.Ī way that particles can travel that quickly is by being in a hot gas or in plasma, like in the Sun. As two nuclei approach each other, they will repel because they have the same charge. However, the issue with fusion is that it requires the fusing of nuclei, which are positive particles. It is estimated that the sun releases 3.8 × 10 26 joules of energy every second. Complete fusion of all these hydrogen nuclei would release about 17,200,000,000,000 joules (J) of energy. This may not seem like a lot of energy but this energy is a result of the fusion of only four hydrogen nuclei.Ī 250 millilitre (ml) glass of water will contain around 1.6 × 10 25 hydrogen atoms. In all nuclear reactions a small amount of the mass changes to energy. The missing mass is converted to energy, which radiates away. Nuclear fusion and nuclear fission are two different types of energy-releasing reactions in which energy is released from high-powered atomic bonds between the particles within the nucleus. This means that there is a missing amount of mass equalling 0.048 × 10 -27 kg. The mass of one helium nucleus is 6.645 × 10 -27 kg. The combined mass of four hydrogen nuclei is 6.693 × 10 -27 kilograms (kg). The simplest is when four hydrogen nuclei become one helium nuclei. There are a number of different nuclear fusion reactions happening in the Sun. Fusion reactions occur in stars where two hydrogen nuclei fuse together under high temperatures and pressure to form a nucleus of a helium isotope. Nuclear fusion is when two small, light nuclei join together to make one heavy nucleus.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |