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7/31/2019 PHY Nuclear Fusion and Fission
1/36
Nuclear fusion
Nuclear fusion is the process by which two or moreatomic nucleijoin together, or "fuse", to form a
single heavier nucleus. This is usually accompanied by the release or absorption of large quantities
ofenergy. Fusion is the process that powers activestars, thehydrogen bomband experimental
devices examiningfusion powerforelectrical generation.
The fusion of two nuclei with lower masses thaniron(which, along withnickel, has the largestbinding
energyper nucleon) generally releases energy, while the fusion of nuclei heavier than
iron absorbsenergy. The opposite is true for the reverse process,nuclear fission. This means that
fusion generally occurs for lighter elements only, and likewise, that fission normally occurs only for
heavier elements. There are extremeastrophysicalevents that can lead to short periods of fusion with
heavier nuclei. This is the process that gives rise tonucleosynthesis, the creation of the heavy
elements during events likesupernovas.
Creating the required conditions for fusion on Earth are very difficult. Fornuclear weapons, some of
the energy released by anatomic bombis used to compress and heat a fusion fuel to the point of
"ignition". At this point, the energy released in the fusion reactions is enough to maintain the reaction.
Fusion-basednuclear powerexperiments attempt to create similar conditions using less dramatic
means, although to date these experiments have failed to maintain conditions needed for ignition long
enough for fusion to be a viable commercial power source.
Building upon thenuclear transmutationexperiments byErnest Rutherford, carried out several years
earlier, the laboratory fusion ofhydrogen isotopeswas first accomplished byMark Oliphantin 1932.
Then, the steps of the main cycle of nuclear fusion in stars were first worked out byHans
Bethethroughout the remainder of that decade. Research into fusion for military purposes began in
the early 1940s as part of theManhattan Project, but this was not accomplished until 1951 (see
theGreenhouse Itemnuclear test), and nuclear fusion on a large scale in an explosion was first
carried out onNovember 1,1952, in theIvy Mikehydrogen bombtest.
Research into developingcontrolled thermonuclear fusionfor civil purposes also began in earnest in
the 1950s, and it continues to this day. Two projects, theNational Ignition FacilityandITERare in the
process of reaching breakeven after 60 years of design improvements developed from previous
experiments.
[edit]Overview
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rg/wiki/Astrophysicshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_fissionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Binding_energyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Binding_energyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nickelhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ironhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electrical_generationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fusion_powerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teller%E2%80%93Ulam_designhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atomic_nuclei7/31/2019 PHY Nuclear Fusion and Fission
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Fusion ofdeuteriumwithtritiumcreatinghelium-4, freeing aneutron, and releasing 17.59MeVof energy, as an
appropriate amount of mass changing forms to appear as the kinetic energy of the products, in agreement with kinetic
E= mc2, wherem is the change in rest mass of particles.[1]
Fusion reactions power thestarsand produce virtually all elements in a process
callednucleosynthesis.
Generally, when dealing withelements lighter than iron, the lower the ratio ofatomic masstomass
numberis, the heavier the nucleus is. This is known asmass defect. Fusion of lighter nuclei into
heavier nuclei leads to loss of mass when the energy of binding is removed (this energy carries away
the lost mass), even though nonucleonsare lost. This lost mass is present in the released energy inaccordance withE=mc
2. Most of the excessbinding energyis released as kinetic energy of the
resulting particles. When these particles are slowed, such as in collisions with one another, this
energy is available to do work or be converted to electromagnetic radiation or heat.
The fusion of lighter elements in stars releases energy (and the mass that always accompanies it).
For example, in the fusion of four hydrogen nuclei to form helium, seven-tenths of 1 percent of the
mass is carried away from the system in the form of kinetic energy or other forms of energy (such as
electromagnetic radiation)[2]
However, the production ofelements heavier than ironabsorbs energy.
Research into controlled fusion, with the aim of producing fusion power for the production of
electricity, has been conducted for over 50 years. It has been accompanied by extreme scientific and
technological difficulties, but has resulted in progress. At present, controlled fusion reactions have
been unable to produce break-even (self-sustaining) controlled fusion reactions.[3]
Workable designs
for a reactor that theoretically will deliver ten times more fusion energy than the amount needed to
heat up plasma to required temperatures (seeITER) were originally scheduled to be operational in
2018, however this has been delayed and a new date has not been stated.
It takes considerable energy to force nuclei to fuse, even those of the lightest element,hydrogen. This
is because all nuclei have a positive charge (due to their protons), and as like charges repel, nuclei
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strongly resist being put too close together. Accelerated to high speeds (that is, heated to
thermonuclear temperatures), they can overcome this electrostatic repulsion and get close enough for
the attractivenuclear forceto be sufficiently strong to achieve fusion. The fusion of lighter nuclei,
which creates a heavier nucleus and often afree neutronor proton, generally releases more energy
than it takes to force the nuclei together; this is anexothermic processthat can produce self-
sustaining reactions. TheNational Ignition Facility, which uses laser-driveninertial confinement fusion,
is thought to be capable of break-even fusion.
The first large-scale laser target experiments were performed in June 2009 and ignition experiments
are beginning early in 2011.[4][5]
Energy released in mostnuclear reactionsis much larger than inchemical reactions, because
thebinding energythat holds a nucleus together is far greater than the energy that holdselectronsto a
nucleus. For example, theionization energygained by adding an electron to a hydrogen nucleusis 13.6eVless than one-millionth of the 17MeVreleased in thedeuteriumtritium(DT) reaction
shown in the diagram to the right. Fusion reactions have anenergy densitymany times greater
thannuclear fission; the reactions produce far greater energies per unit of mass even
though individualfission reactions are generally much more energetic than individualfusion ones,
which are themselves millions of times more energetic than chemical reactions. Only direct
conversion ofmass into energy, such as that caused by the collision ofmatterandantimatter, is more
energetic per unit of mass than nuclear fusion.
[edit]Requirements
A substantial energy barrier of electrostatic forces must be overcome before fusion can occur. At
large distances two naked nuclei repel one another because of the repulsiveelectrostatic
forcebetween theirpositively chargedprotons. If two nuclei can be brought close enough together,
however, the electrostatic repulsion can be overcome by the attractivenuclear force, which is stronger
at close distances.
When anucleonsuch as aprotonorneutronis added to a nucleus, the nuclear force attracts it to
other nucleons, but primarily to its immediate neighbours due to the short range of the force. The
nucleons in the interior of a nucleus have more neighboring nucleons than those on the surface.
Since smaller nuclei have a larger surface area-to-volume ratio, the binding energy per nucleon due
to thenuclear forcegenerally increases with the size of the nucleus but approaches a limiting value
corresponding to that of a nucleus with a diameter of about four nucleons. It is important to keep in
mind that the above picture is atoy modelbecause nucleons arequantum objects, and so, for
example, since two neutrons in a nucleus are identical to each other, distinguishing one from the
other, such as which one is in the interior and which is on the surface, is in fact meaningless, and the
inclusion of quantum mechanics is necessary for proper calculations.
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iki/Nuclear_fusion#cite_note-programsNIF-3http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_fusion#cite_note-programsNIF-3http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inertial_confinement_fusionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Ignition_Facilityhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exothermic_reactionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_neutronhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_force7/31/2019 PHY Nuclear Fusion and Fission
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The electrostatic force, on the other hand, is aninverse-square force, so a proton added to a nucleus
will feel an electrostatic repulsion from allthe other protons in the nucleus. The electrostatic energy
per nucleon due to the electrostatic force thus increases without limit as nuclei get larger.
At short distances the attractivenuclear forceis stronger than the repulsiveelectrostatic force. As such, the main
technical difficulty for fusion is getting the nuclei close enough to fuse.
The net result of these opposing forces is that the binding energy per nucleon generally increases
with increasing size, up to the elementsironandnickel, and then decreases for heavier nuclei.
Eventually, thebinding energybecomes negative and very heavy nuclei (all with more than 208
nucleons, corresponding to a diameter of about 6 nucleons) are not stable. The four most tightly
bound nuclei, in decreasing order ofbinding energyper nucleon, are62
Ni,58
Fe,56
Fe, and60
Ni.[6]
Even though thenickel isotope,62
Ni, is more stable, theiron isotope56
Fe is anorder of magnitudemore common. This is due to a greater disintegration rate for62
Ni in the interior of stars driven by photon absorption.
A notable exception to this general trend is thehelium-4nucleus, whose binding energy is higher than
that oflithium, the next heaviest element. ThePauli exclusion principleprovides an explanation for
this exceptional behaviorit says that because protons and neutrons arefermions, they cannot exist
in exactly the same state. Each proton or neutron energy state in a nucleus can accommodate both a
spin up particle and a spin down particle. Helium-4 has an anomalously large binding energy because
its nucleus consists of two protons and two neutrons; so all four of its nucleons can be in the ground
state. Any additional nucleons would have to go into higher energy states.
The situation is similar if two nuclei are brought together. As they approach each other, all the protons
in one nucleus repel all the protons in the other. Not until the two nuclei actually come in contact can
the strongnuclear forcetake over. Consequently, even when the final energy state is lower, there is a
large energy barrier that must first be overcome. It is called theCoulomb barrier.
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The Coulomb barrier is smallest for isotopes of hydrogenthey contain only a single positive charge
in the nucleus. Adiprotonis not stable, so neutrons must also be involved, ideally in such a way that a
helium nucleus, with its extremely tight binding, is one of the products.
Using deuterium-tritium fuel, the resulting energy barrier is about 0.01 MeV.
[citation needed]
In comparison,the energy needed to remove anelectronfromhydrogenis 13.6 eV, about 750 times less energy. The
(intermediate) result of the fusion is an unstable5He nucleus, which immediately ejects a neutron with
14.1 MeV.[citation needed]
The recoil energy of the remaining4He nucleus is 3.5 MeV,
[citation needed]so the
total energy liberated is 17.6 MeV.[citation needed]
This is many times more than what was needed to
overcome the energy barrier.
If the energy to initiate the reaction comes fromacceleratingone of the nuclei, the process is
called beam-targetfusion; if both nuclei are accelerated, it is beam-beamfusion. If the nuclei are part
of aplasmanear thermal equilibrium, the process is called thermonuclearfusion. Temperature is ameasure of the averagekinetic energyof particles, so by heating the nuclei they will gain energy and
eventually have enough to overcome this 0.01 MeV. Converting the units between electronvolts and
kelvin shows that the barrier would be overcome at a temperature in excess of 120 million kelvins.
There are two effects that lower the actual temperature needed. One is the fact thattemperatureis
the averagekinetic energy, implying that some nuclei at this temperature would actually have much
higher energy than 0.01 MeV, while others would be much lower. It is the nuclei in the high-energy tail
of thevelocity distributionthat account for most of the fusion reactions. The other effect isquantum
tunneling. The nuclei do not actually have to have enough energy to overcome the Coulomb barrier
completely. If they have nearly enough energy, they can tunnel through the remaining barrier. For this
reason fuel at lower temperatures will still undergo fusion events, at a lower rate.
The fusion reaction rate increases rapidly with temperature until it maximizes and then gradually drops off. The DT rate
peaks at a lower temperature (about 70 keV, or 800 million kelvin) and at a higher value than other reactions commonly
considered for fusion energy.
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The reactioncross section is a measure of the probability of a fusion reaction as a function of the
relative velocity of the two reactant nuclei. If the reactants have a distribution of velocities, e.g. a
thermal distribution with thermonuclear fusion, then it is useful to perform an average over the
distributions of the product of cross section and velocity. The reaction rate (fusions per volume per
time) is times the product of the reactant number densities:
If a species of nuclei is reacting with itself, such as the DD reaction, then the product n1n2 must be
replaced by (1 / 2)n2.
increases from virtually zero at room temperatures up to meaningful magnitudes at
temperatures of10100keV. At these temperatures, well above typicalionizationenergies (13.6 eV
in the hydrogen case), the fusion reactants exist in aplasmastate.
The significance of as a function of temperature in a device with a particular
energyconfinement timeis found by considering theLawson criterion.
[edit]Gravitational confinement
Main article:Stellar nucleosynthesis
One force capable of confining the fuel well enough to satisfy theLawson criterionisgravity. The
mass needed, however, is so great that gravitational confinement is only found instarsthe least
massive stars capable of sustained fusion arered dwarfs, whilebrown dwarfsare able to
fusedeuteriumandlithiumif they are of sufficient mass. In starsheavy enough, after the supply of
hydrogen is exhausted in their cores, their cores (or a shell around the core) start fusinghelium to
carbon. In the most massive stars (at least 811 solar masses), the process is continued until some of
their energy is produced byfusing lighter elements to iron. As iron has one of the highestbinding
energies, reactions producing heavier elements are generallyendothermic. Therefore significant
amounts of heavier elements are not formed during stable periods of massive star evolution, but are
formed insupernova explosions.Some lighter starsalso form these elements in the outer parts of the
stars over long periods of time, by absorbing energy from fusion in the inside of the star, by absorbing
neutrons that are emitted from the fusion process.
All of the elements heavier than iron have some potential energy to
release, in theory. At the extremely heavy end of element production,
these heavier elements canproduce energyin the process of being
split again back toward the size of iron, in the process ofnuclear
fission. Nuclear fission thus releases energy which has been stored,
sometimes billions of years before, during stellarnucleosynthesis.
[edit]Magnetic confinement
Main article:Magnetic confinement fusion
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Electrically charged particles (such as fuel ions) will followmagnetic fieldlines (seeGuiding center).
The fusion fuel can therefore be trapped using a strong magnetic field. A variety of magnetic
configurations exist, including the toroidal geometries oftokamaksandstellaratorsand open-
endedmirror confinementsystems.
[edit]Inertial confinement
Main article:Inertial confinement fusion
A third confinement principle is to apply a rapid pulse of energy to a large part of the surface of a
pellet of fusion fuel, causing it to simultaneously "implode" and heat to very high pressure and
temperature. If the fuel is dense enough and hot enough, the fusion reaction rate will be high enough
to burn a significant fraction of the fuel before it has dissipated. To achieve these extreme conditions,
the initially cold fuel must be explosively compressed. Inertial confinement is used in thehydrogen
bomb, where the driver isx-rayscreated by a fission bomb. Inertial confinement is also attempted in
"controlled" nuclear fusion, where the driver is alaser,ion, orelectronbeam, or aZ-pinch. Another
method is to use conventional highexplosive materialto compress a fuel to fusion conditions.[7][8]
The
UTIAS explosive-driven-implosion facility was used to produce stable, centered and focused
hemispherical implosions[9]
to generateneutronsfrom D-D reactions. The simplest and most direct
method proved to be in a predetonated stoichiometric mixture ofdeuterium-oxygen. The other
successful method was using a miniatureVoitenko compressor,[10]
where a plane diaphragm was
driven by the implosion wave into a secondary small spherical cavity that contained
puredeuteriumgas at one atmosphere.
[11]
Some confinement principles have been investigated, such asmuon-catalyzed fusion,
theFarnsworthHirsch fusorandPolywell(inertial electrostatic confinement), andbubble fusion.
[edit]Production methods
A variety of methods are known to effect nuclear fusion. Some are"cold" in the strict sense that no
part of the material is hot (except for the reaction products), some are "cold" in the limited sense that
the bulk of the material is at a relatively low temperature and pressure but the reactants are not, and
some are "hot" fusion methods that create macroscopic regions of very high temperature and
pressure.
[edit]Muon-catalyzed fusion
Muon-catalyzed fusionis a well-established and reproducible fusion process that occurs at ordinary
temperatures. It was studied in detail bySteven Jonesin the early 1980s. It has not been reported to
produce net energy. Net energy production from this reaction cannot occur because of the energy
required to createmuons, their 2.2 shalf-life, and the chance that a muon will bind to the newalpha
particleand thus stop catalyzing fusion.[12]
[edit]Generally cold, locally hot fusion
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ar_fusion#cite_note-11http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_fusion#cite_note-11http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Nuclear_fusion&action=edit§ion=8http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Nuclear_fusion&action=edit§ion=8http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Nuclear_fusion&action=edit§ion=8http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Nuclear_fusion&action=edit§ion=8http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_fusion#cite_note-11http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alpha_particlehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alpha_particlehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Half-lifehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muonhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steven_E._Joneshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muon-catalyzed_fusionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Nuclear_fusion&action=edit§ion=7http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Nuclear_fusion&action=edit§ion=6http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bubble_fusionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inertial_electrostatic_confinementhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polywellhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farnsworth%E2%80%93Hirsch_fusorhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muon-catalyzed_fusionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_fusion#cite_note-10http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deuteriumhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_fusion#cite_note-9http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voitenko_compressorhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxygenhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deuteriumhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neutronhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_fusion#cite_note-8http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_fusion#cite_note-6http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_fusion#cite_note-6http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Explosive_materialhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Z-pinchhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laserhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X-rayshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrogen_bombhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrogen_bombhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inertial_confinement_fusionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Nuclear_fusion&action=edit§ion=5http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnetic_mirrorhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stellaratorhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tokamakhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guiding_center#Gyrationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnetic_field7/31/2019 PHY Nuclear Fusion and Fission
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Accelerator-based light-ion fusion is a technique using particle accelerators to achieve particle kinetic
energies sufficient to induce light-ion fusion reactions. Accelerating light ions is relatively easy, and
can be done in an efficient mannerall it takes is a vacuum tube, a pair of electrodes, and a high-
voltage transformer; fusion can be observed with as little as 10 kV between electrodes. The key
problem with accelerator-based fusion (and with cold targets in general) is that fusion cross sections
are many orders of magnitude lower than Coulomb interaction cross sections. Therefore the vast
majority of ions end up expending their energy onbremsstrahlungand ionization of atoms of the
target. Devices referred to as sealed-tubeneutron generatorsare particularly relevant to this
discussion. These small devices are miniature particle accelerators filled with deuterium and tritium
gas in an arrangement that allows ions of these nuclei to be accelerated against hydride targets, also
containing deuterium and tritium, where fusion takes place. Hundreds of neutron generators are
produced annually for use in the petroleum industry where they are used in measurement equipment
for locating and mapping oil reserves. Despite periodic reports in the popular press by scientists
claiming to have invented "table-top" fusion machines, neutron generators have been around for half
a century. The sizes of these devices vary but the smallest instruments are often packaged in sizes
smaller than a loaf of bread. These devices do not produce a net power output.
Sonofusion orbubble fusion, a controversial variation on thesonoluminescencetheme, suggests that
acoustic shock waves, creating temporary bubbles (cavitation) that expand and collapse shortly after
creation, can produce temperatures and pressures sufficient for nuclear fusion.[13]
TheFarnsworthHirsch fusoris a tabletop device in which fusion occurs. This fusion comes from high
effective temperatures produced by electrostatic acceleration of ions. The device can be built
inexpensively, but it too is unable to produce a net power output.
ThePolywellis a concept for a tabletop device in which fusion occurs. The device is a non-
thermodynamic equilibrium machine that uses electrostatic confinement to accelerate ions into a
center where they fuse together.
Antimatter-initialized fusionuses small amounts ofantimatterto trigger a tiny fusion explosion. This
has been studied primarily in the context of makingnuclear pulse propulsion, andpure fusion
bombsfeasible. This is not near becoming a practical power source, due to the cost of manufacturing
antimatter alone.
Pyroelectric fusionwas reported in April 2005 by a team atUCLA. The scientists used
apyroelectriccrystal heated from 34 to 7 C (29 to 45 F), combined with atungstenneedle to
produce anelectric fieldof about 25 gigavolts per meter to ionize and acceleratedeuteriumnuclei into
an erbium deuteride target. Though the energy of the deuterium ions generated by the crystal has not
been directly measured, the authors used 100 keV (a temperature of about 109K) as an estimate in
their modeling.[14]
At these energy levels, two deuterium nuclei can fuse together to produce ahelium-
3nucleus, a 2.45 MeVneutronandbremsstrahlung. Although it makes a useful neutron generator,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bremsstrahlunghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bremsstrahlunghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bremsstrahlunghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neutron_generatorhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neutron_generatorhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neutron_generatorhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bubble_fusionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bubble_fusionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bubble_fusionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonoluminescencehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonoluminescencehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonoluminescencehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_fusion#cite_note-12http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_fusion#cite_note-12http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_fusion#cite_note-12http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farnsworth%E2%80%93Hirsch_fusorhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farnsworth%E2%80%93Hirsch_fusorhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farnsworth%E2%80%93Hirsch_fusorhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farnsworth%E2%80%93Hirsch_fusorhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farnsworth%E2%80%93Hirsch_fusorhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polywellhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polywellhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polywellhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antimatter_catalyzed_nuclear_pulse_propulsionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antimatter_catalyzed_nuclear_pulse_propulsionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antimatterhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antimatterhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antimatterhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_pulse_propulsionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_pulse_propulsionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_pulse_propulsionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pure_fusion_bombhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pure_fusion_bombhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pure_fusion_bombhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyroelectric_fusionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyroelectric_fusionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_California,_Los_Angeleshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_California,_Los_Angeleshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_California,_Los_Angeleshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyroelectricityhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyroelectricityhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyroelectricityhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tungstenhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tungstenhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tungstenhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_fieldhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_fieldhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_fieldhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deuteriumhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deuteriumhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deuteriumhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kelvinhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kelvinhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kelvinhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_fusion#cite_note-13http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_fusion#cite_note-13http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_fusion#cite_note-13http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium-3http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium-3http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium-3http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium-3http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neutronhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neutronhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neutronhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bremsstrahlunghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bremsstrahlunghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bremsstrahlunghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bremsstrahlunghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neutronhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium-3http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium-3http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_fusion#cite_note-13http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kelvinhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deuteriumhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_fieldhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tungstenhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyroelectricityhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_California,_Los_Angeleshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyroelectric_fusionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pure_fusion_bombhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pure_fusion_bombhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_pulse_propulsionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antimatterhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antimatter_catalyzed_nuclear_pulse_propulsionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polywellhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farnsworth%E2%80%93Hirsch_fusorhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_fusion#cite_note-12http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonoluminescencehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bubble_fusionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neutron_generatorhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bremsstrahlung7/31/2019 PHY Nuclear Fusion and Fission
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the apparatus is not intended for power generation since it requires far more energy than it
produces.[15][16][17][18]
[edit]Hot fusion
In hotfusion, the fuel reaches tremendous temperature and pressure inside afusion reactoror star.
The methods in the second group are examples of non-equilibrium systems, in which very high
temperatures and pressures are produced in a relatively small region adjacent to material of much
lower temperature. In his doctoral thesis forMIT, Todd Rider did a theoretical study of all quasineutral,
isotropic, non-equilibrium fusion systems. He demonstrated that all such systems will leak energy at a
rapid rate due tobremsstrahlungproduced whenelectronsin theplasmahit other electrons orionsat
a cooler temperature and suddenly decelerate. The problem is not as pronounced in a hot plasma
because the range of temperatures, and thus the magnitude of the deceleration, is much lower. Note
that Rider's work does not apply to non-neutral and/or anisotropic non-equilibrium plasmas.
[edit]Important reactions
[edit]Astrophysical reaction chains
Theproton-proton chaindominates in stars the size of the Sun or smaller.
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TheCNO cycledominates in stars heavier than the Sun.
The most important fusion process in nature is the one that powers stars. The net result is the fusion
of fourprotonsinto onealpha particle, with the release of twopositrons, twoneutrinos(which changes
two of the protons into neutrons), and energy, but several individual reactions are involved, depending
on the mass of the star. For stars the size of the sun or smaller, theproton-proton chaindominates. In
heavier stars, theCNO cycleis more important. Both types of processes are responsible for the
creation of new elements as part ofstellar nucleosynthesis.
At the temperatures and densities in stellar cores the rates of fusion reactions are notoriously slow.
For example, at solar core temperature (T 15 MK) and density (160 g/cm3), the energy release rate
is only 276 W/cm3about a quarter of the volumetric rate at which a resting human body generates
heat.[19]
Thus, reproduction of stellar core conditions in a lab for nuclear fusion power production is
completely impractical. Because nuclear reaction rates strongly depend on temperature (exp(E/kT)),
achieving reasonable energy production rates in terrestrial fusion reactors requires 10100 times
higher temperatures (compared to stellar interiors): T 0.11.0 GK.
[edit]Criteria and candidates for terrestrial reactions
In man-made fusion, the primary fuel is not constrained to be protons and higher temperatures can be
used, so reactions with larger cross-sections are chosen. This implies a lowerLawson criterion, and
therefore less startup effort. Another concern is the production of neutrons, which activate the reactor
structure radiologically, but also have the advantages of allowing volumetric extraction of the fusion
energy andtritiumbreeding. Reactions that release no neutrons are referred to asaneutronic.
To be a useful energy source, a fusion reaction must satisfy several criteria. It must
Beexothermic: This may be obvious, but it limits the reactants to
the low Z(number of protons) side of thecurve of binding energy.
It also makes helium4
Hethe most common product because of its extraordinarily tight
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CNO_cyclehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CNO_cyclehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CNO_cyclehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CNO_cyclehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protonhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protonhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protonhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alpha_particlehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alpha_particlehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alpha_particlehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Positronhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Positronhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Positronhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neutrinohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neutrinohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neutrinohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proton-proton_chainhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proton-proton_chainhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CNO_cyclehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CNO_cyclehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CNO_cyclehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stellar_nucleosynthesishttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stellar_nucleosynthesishttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stellar_nucleosynthesishttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_fusion#cite_note-18http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_fusion#cite_note-18http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_fusion#cite_note-18http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Nuclear_fusion&action=edit§ion=12http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Nuclear_fusion&action=edit§ion=12http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Nuclear_fusion&action=edit§ion=12http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawson_criterionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawson_criterionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawson_criterionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tritiumhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tritiumhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tritiumhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aneutronic_fusionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aneutronic_fusionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aneutronic_fusionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exothermichttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exothermichttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exothermichttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_binding_energy#Nuclear_binding_energy_curvehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_binding_energy#Nuclear_binding_energy_curvehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_binding_energy#Nuclear_binding_energy_curvehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium-4http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium-4http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium-4http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium-4http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:CNO_Cycle.svghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:CNO_Cycle.svghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:CNO_Cycle.svghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:CNO_Cycle.svghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium-4http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium-4http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_binding_energy#Nuclear_binding_energy_curvehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exothermichttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aneutronic_fusionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tritiumhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawson_criterionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Nuclear_fusion&action=edit§ion=12http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_fusion#cite_note-18http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stellar_nucleosynthesishttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CNO_cyclehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proton-proton_chainhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neutrinohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Positronhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alpha_particlehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protonhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CNO_cycle7/31/2019 PHY Nuclear Fusion and Fission
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binding, although3
Heand3
Halso show up.
Involve low Znuclei: This is because the electrostatic repulsion
must be overcome before the nuclei are close enough to fuse.
Have two reactants: At anything less than stellar densities, three
body collisions are too improbable. In inertial confinement, both
stellar densities and temperatures are exceeded to compensate
for the shortcomings of the third parameter of the Lawson
criterion, ICF's very short confinement time.
Have two or more products: This allows simultaneous
conservation of energy and momentum without relying on the
electromagnetic force.
Conserve both protons and neutrons: The cross sections for
the weak interaction are too small.
Few reactions meet these criteria. The following are those with the
largest cross sections[citation needed]
:
(1)2
1D+
3
1T
4
2He( 3.5MeV ) + n0 ( 14.1MeV )
(2i)2
1D+
2
1D
3
1T( 1.01MeV ) + p+ ( 3.02MeV ) 50%
(2ii) 3
2He( 0.82MeV ) + n
0 ( 2.45MeV ) 50%
(3)2
1D+
3
2He
4
2He( 3.6MeV ) + p+ ( 14.7MeV )
(4)3
1T+
3
1T
4
2He+ 2n
0 + 11.3MeV
(5)3
2He+
3
2He
4
2He+ 2p+ + 12.9MeV
(6i)3
2He+
3
1T
4
2He+ p
+ + n
0 + 12.1MeV 51%
(6ii) 42He ( 4.8MeV ) + 21D ( 9.5MeV ) 43%
(6iii) 4
2He( 0.5MeV ) + n0 ( 1.9MeV ) + p+ ( 11.9MeV ) 6%
(7i)2
1D+
6
3Li
24
2He+ 22.4MeV
(7ii) 3
2He+
4
2He+ n0 + 2.56MeV
(7iii) 7
3Li+ p
+ + 5.0MeV
(7iv) 7
4Be+ n0 + 3.4MeV
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium-3http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium-3http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium-3http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium-3http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrogen-3http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrogen-3http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrogen-3http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrogen-3http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_neededhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_neededhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_neededhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deuterium-2http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deuterium-2http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deuterium-2http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deuterium-2http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tritium-3http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tritium-3http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tritium-3http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tritium-3http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium-4http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium-4http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium-4http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium-4http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electron_volthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electron_volthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electron_volthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neutronhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neutronhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neutronhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electron_volthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electron_volthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electron_volthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deuterium-2http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deuterium-2http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deuterium-2http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deuterium-2http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deuterium-2http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deuterium-2http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deuterium-2http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deuterium-2http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tritium-3http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tritium-3http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tritium-3http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tritium-3http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electron_volthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electron_volthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electron_volthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protonhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protonhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protonhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electron_volthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electron_volthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electron_volthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium-3http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium-3http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium-3http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium-3http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electron_volthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electron_volthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electron_volthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neutronhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neutronhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neutronhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electron_volthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electron_volthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electron_volthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deuterium-2http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deuterium-2http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deuterium-2http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deuterium-2http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium-3http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium-3http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium-3http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium-3http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium-4http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium-4http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium-4http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium-4http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electron_volthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electron_volthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electron_volthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protonhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protonhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protonhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electron_volthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electron_volthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electron_volthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tritium-3http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tritium-3http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tritium-3http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tritium-3http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tritium-3http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tritium-3http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tritium-3http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tritium-3http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium-4http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium-4http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium-4http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium-4http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neutronhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neutronhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neutronhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neutronhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electron_volthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electron_volthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electron_volthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium-3http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium-3http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium-3http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium-3http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium-3http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium-3http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium-3http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium-3http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium-4http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium-4http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium-4http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium-4http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protonhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protonhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protonhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protonhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electron_volthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electron_volthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electron_volthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium-3http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium-3http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium-3http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium-3http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tritium-3http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tritium-3http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tritium-3http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tritium-3http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium-4http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium-4http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium-4http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium-4http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protonhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protonhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protonhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neutronhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neutronhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neutronhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electron_volthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electron_volthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electron_volthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium-4http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium-4http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium-4http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium-4http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electron_volthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electron_volthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electron_volthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deuterium-2http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deuterium-2http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deuterium-2http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deuterium-2http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electron_volthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electron_volthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electron_volthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium-4http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium-4http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium-4http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium-4http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electron_volthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electron_volthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electron_volthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neutronhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neutronhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neutronhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electron_volthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electron_volthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electron_volthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protonhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protonhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protonhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electron_volthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electron_volthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electron_volthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deuterium-2http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deuterium-2http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deuterium-2http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deuterium-2http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithium-6http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithium-6http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithium-6http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithium-6http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium-4http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium-4http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium-4http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium-4http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium-4http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electron_volthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electron_volthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electron_volthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium-3http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium-3http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium-3http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium-3http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium-4http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium-4http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium-4http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium-4http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neutronhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neutronhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neutronhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electron_volthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electron_volthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electron_volthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithium-7http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithium-7http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithium-7http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithium-7http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protonhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protonhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protonhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electron_volthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electron_volthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electron_volthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beryllium-7http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beryllium-7http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beryllium-7http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beryllium-7http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neutronhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neutronhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neutronhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electron_volthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electron_volthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electron_volthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electron_volthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neutronhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beryllium-7http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beryllium-7http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electron_volthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protonhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithium-7http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithium-7http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electron_volthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neutronhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium-4http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium-4http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium-3http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium-3http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electron_volthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium-4http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium-4http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithium-6http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithium-6http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deuterium-2http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deuterium-2http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electron_volthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protonhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electron_volthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neutronhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electron_volthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium-4http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium-4http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electron_volthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deuterium-2http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deuterium-2http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electron_volthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium-4http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium-4http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electron_volthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neutronhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protonhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium-4http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium-4http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tritium-3http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tritium-3http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium-3http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium-3http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electron_volthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protonhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium-4http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium-4http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium-3http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium-3http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium-3http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium-3http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electron_volthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neutronhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium-4http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium-4http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tritium-3http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tritium-3http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tritium-3http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tritium-3http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electron_volthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protonhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electron_volthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium-4http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium-4http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium-3http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium-3http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deuterium-2http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deuterium-2http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electron_volthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neutronhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electron_volthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium-3http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium-3http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electron_volthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protonhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electron_volthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tritium-3http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tritium-3http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deuterium-2http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deuterium-2http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deuterium-2http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deuterium-2http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electron_volthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neutronhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electron_volthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium-4http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium-4http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tritium-3http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tritium-3http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deuterium-2http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deuterium-2http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_neededhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrogen-3http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrogen-3http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium-3http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium-37/31/2019 PHY Nuclear Fusion and Fission
12/36
(8) p+ +6
3Li
4
2He( 1.7MeV ) +
3
2He( 2.3MeV )
(9)3
2He+
6
3Li
24
2He+ p+ + 16.9MeV
(10) p+ +
11
5B
34
2He
+ 8.7MeV
For reactions with two products, the energy is divided between
them in inverse proportion to their masses, as shown. In most
reactions with three products, the distribution of energy varies.
For reactions that can result in more than one set of products, the
branching ratios are given.
Some reaction candidates can be eliminated at once.[20]
The D-6Li reaction has no advantage
compared top+-11
5Bbecause it is roughly as difficult to burn but produces substantially more neutrons through2
1D-2
1Dside reactions. There is also ap+-7
3Lireaction, but the cross section is far too low, except possibly when Ti > 1 MeV, but at such high
temperatures an endothermic, direct neutron-producing reaction also becomes very significant. Finally
there is also ap+-9
4Bereaction, which is not only difficult to burn, but9
4Becan be easily induced to split into two alpha particles and a neutron.
In addition to the fusion reactions, the following reactions with neutrons are important in order to
"breed" tritium in "dry" fusion bombs and some proposed fusion reactors:
n0 +6
3Li
3
1T+
4
2He
n0 +
7
3Li
3
1T+
4
2He+ n
0
To evaluate the usefulness of these reactions, in addition to the reactants, the products, and the
energy released, one needs to know something about the cross section. Any given fusion device has
a maximum plasma pressure it can sustain, and an economical device would always operate near thismaximum. Given this pressure, the largest fusion output is obtained when the temperature is chosen
so that /T2
is a maximum. This is also the temperature at which the value of the triple product nT
required forignitionis a minimum, since that required value is inversely proportional to
/T2(seeLawson criterion). (A plasma is "ignited" if the fusion reactions produce enough power to
maintain the temperature without external heating.) This optimum temperature and the value of
/T2
at that temperature is given for a few of these reactions in the following table.
fuel T [keV] /T2 [m3/s/keV2]
2
1D-31T
13.6 1.241024
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protonhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protonhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protonhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithium-6http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithium-6http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithium-6http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithium-6http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium-4http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium-4http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium-4http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium-4http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electron_volthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electron_volthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electron_volthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium-3http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium-3http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium-3http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium-3http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electron_volthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electron_volthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electron_volthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium-3http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium-3http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium-3http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium-3http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithium-6http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithium-6http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithium-6http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithium-6http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium-4http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium-4http://en.wikipedia.org/wi