What is nuclear fusion and how does it power the sun?

Answer 1

In terms of our sun and nuclear fusion you get a few products.

The overall reaction takes 4 hydrogen atoms and fuses them together and the products are:

1. Helium - 4

2. Gamma Rays

3. Neutrinos

4. Positrons

5. Energy (light)

This is the overall reaction, the proton-proton chain is a more detailed description of this process and shows other products (like 2 protons being ejected at the end when the helium - 4 is produced).

HAHAHA

Answer 2

It is stellar nucleosynthesis that could be considered the "primary job duty" of the sun (and most other stars). There are a number of stages of fusion in the life of stars, but the primary one is the fusion of hydrogen into helium. This is the most common nuclear reaction in our sun, although other reactions are known to happen, resulting in the formation of new lithium, beryllium and boron isotopes. Larger, hotter stars can fuse heavier elements, resulting in iron-54 as the heaviest stable isotope possible in stellar nucleosynthesis .

In hydrogen fusion, the so-called proton-proton reaction, particles (protons and neutrons) are "smooshed together" and fused to create helium. The intense temperature and pressure inside a star make this reaction possible. The fusion reactions are exothermic and thus maintain the high-energy environment that supports further fusion.

The result of fusion in the sun is the production of a huge quantity of energy. And it is this energy that supports life on earth.

Answer 3

A type of beryllium is the product of helium fusing with helium. However helium then fuses with beryllium to form carbon. Helium can then fuse with carbon to form oxygen. The process continues with heavier elements.

Answer 4

Nuclear fusion is the combining, i.e. fusion, of atoms of one element to produce a different element. In the Sun, atoms of hydrogen are fused together to produce helium. This is accompanied with a gigantic release of binding energy that serves to feed the reaction and produce light, heat, and other radiation.

In order for fusion to occur, the electrons must be removed. This is done by the extremely high heat in the core of the Sun. This heat ionizes the atoms of hydrogen, leaving them in a plasma state. At this point, they are just a proton.

Next, the protons must be pushed together. This requires an incredible amount of force, because the repulsive effect of the electromagnetic interaction must be overcome in order to bring the protons close enough for the more powerful strong interaction to take over and cause the protons to attract one another. This force is provided by gravity.

Four protons fuse together to produce a helium nucleus. Two of the protons are converted into neutrons by the weak interaction. This process is repeated on a gigantic scale, approximately 3.7 x 1038 protons per second.

The binding energy, i.e. strong interaction, of the resulting helium nucleus is less than the original four isolated protons. This excess energy is released as radiation in the form of heat, light, etc., approximately 3.846 x 1026 joules per second.

Answer 5

If deuterium and tritium are used as fuel, the result is helium plus neutrons

Answer 6

The process of nuclear fusion that powers our sun.

Answer 7

Helium [atomic] nucleii, a very little quantity of deuterium, even less tritium, and an immense amount of Energy.

Answer 8

If it is fusion of hydrogen nuclei (protons) as in the sun, the product is helium