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Well, scientists have been researching fusion reactors for over 50 years, but nuclear fusion is much more difficult to achieve than nuclear fission, which is what current nuclear power technology is based on. There are many reasons for this, but while there have been tests and advancements in the field, scientists have yet to a) create a sustainable and stable nuclear fusion reaction and b) create a reaction that has a greater output than input.
If we were to perfect the technology and use it commercially, it would probably give the earth unlimited technology as it would have an energy output similar to that of a star.
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Why do all current power plants fission reactors?
If you mean why are all current nuclear power plants fission reactors, this is simply because the creation and control of nuclear fusion reactions on a scale and level suitable for commercial purposes are not currently well-understood. Experimental reactors can create and hold a plasma for a short period, and sometimes realise a small net gaing in energy, but none currently can run for an extended period. They are also technical challenges remaining around containment of the plasma and degradation of the plasma vessel due to neutron damage. The current wisdom among fusion researchers is that "commercial fusion power has been 50 years away for the last 50 years...."
Is nuclear fusion used as an energy source in power plants?
Nuclear power plants use controlled atomic fission to generate electricity. Atoms of the fissile material are split and part of their mass is converted to energy in addition to neutrons being ejected from the nucleus. These neutrons impact other atoms within the fissile material which then release further energy and more neutrons. The reaction is controlled by absorbing most freed neutrons with material so an uncontrolled chain reaction doesn't occur like the atom bomb used in WWII. The energy released produces heat (and radiation) which heats liquid into steam turning turbines connected to electric generators to make electricity. The highly radioactive spent fuel is a dangerous waste product that must be warehoused for many lifetimes. Conversely, the simplest type of nuclear fusion, which may become a reality this century, converts hydrogen atoms into helium atoms and produces no radioactive waste products.
Information about nuclear power?
Nuclear power is power (generally electrical) produced from controlled (i.e., non-explosive) nuclear reactions. Commercial plants in use to date use nuclear fission reactions. Electric utility reactors heat water to produce steam, which is then used to generate electricity. In 2007, 14% of the world's electricity came from nuclear power, despite concerns about safety and radioactive waste management. More than 150 naval vessels using nuclear propulsion have been built.Nuclear fusion reactions are widely believed to be safer than fission and appear potentially viable, though technically quite difficult. Fusion power has been under intense theoretical and experimental investigation for many years.Both fission and fusion appear promising for some space propulsion applications in the mid- to distant-future, using low thrust for long durations to achieve high mission velocities. Radioactive decay has been used on a relatively small (few kW) scale, mostly to power space missions and experiments.
What are types of atomic energy?
Nuclear energy is a type of atomic energy. [1]Nuclear energy can be created by atomic Fission (like in out nuclear power plants), or atomic Fusion (like in the Sun).
Does fusion occur only under extremely high temperatures?
Nuclear fusion of light elements is the process operating in the stars to produce energy, and needs very high temperature to occur. Experiments on earth to aim at producing useful power from fusion have been progressing for many years. The reactants most likely to be used are isotopes of hydrogen, deuterium and tritium. These need to be heated to some hundreds of millions of degrees kelvin before reaction starts. Fusion reactions have been seen, but only for less than 1 second so far. Fusion is not a chemical reaction, it is a nuclear process.
Does nuclear fusion occur in nuclear reactor?
No. "Reactors" contain fission reactions. No useful way of containing fusionon an industrial scale outside the laboratory has been developed yet.Edit: Tomak fusion reactors currently produce 10 times the energy that is put into them. The historical increase into the gain of fusion reactors has bettered the increase of capacity of DRAMs. The only reason that that it "isn't out of the laboratory" is because when you build a fusion reactor, it is usually called a laboratory.
Where has nuclear fusion been used?
Mostly in test reactors, though some operational reactors (though only a small number) are in service. Also, if you have ever heard of an H-bomb, or a hydrogen bomb, that is nuclear fusion.
What are the main reasons why nuclear fusion have not been used in nuclear reactors?
Well, scientists have been researching fusion reactors for over 50 years, but nuclear fusion is much more difficult to achieve than nuclear fission, which is what current nuclear power technology is based on. There are many reasons for this, but while there have been tests and advancements in the field, scientists have yet to a) create a sustainable and stable nuclear fusion reaction and b) create a reaction that has a greater output than input.
Does fusion occur on Earth?
No, there are no recorded situations in which sustainednuclear fusion has been accomplished here on earth. In nuclear weapons, fusion is accomplished only for a split second. And the fusion experiments we're developing are yet incomplete.
Is nuclear fusion used for nuclear power?
No, not yet. Maybe in another 20 years when its perfected (which they have been saying every 20 years since they originally began work in the 1950s on lab prototypes of controlled nuclear fusion reactors for power generation).
What are ideal places for fission and fusion?
Fission takes place in nuclear reactors, which are useful to produce electricity. Fusion has not yet been harnessed on earth, so the only place it happens is in stars
Are there more fast breeder or thermal nuclear reactors?
Most nuclear reactors are thermal-neutron reactors. A few fast breeder reactors have been built, but not many.
What is the major disadvantage of using nuclear fusion reactors?
We don't have nuclear fusion reactors. We have not been able to sustain a controlled fusion reaction for more than a brief moment in time, and of more than a small amount of power. Only the Sun and stars have controlled fusion reactions, and Hydrogen bombs have uncontrolled fusion reactions. The problem is in maintaining the extremely high temperature and pressure required to sustain a fusion reaction, while at the same time containing the plasma that results from it. It is so hot that no container will hold it. We can build magnetic "bottles" so to speak, but the enormous flux required to do that requires super magnets, and that requires super-conductors and super-cold temperatures. Placing a super-hot plasma flow within the boundaries of a super-cold magnet is just not something we have accomplished yet. We are working on it, but, barring any stupendous discovery, I think controlled fusion reactors are at least 50 or a 100 years away.
What are the reactors of nuclear fusion?
In nature, the stars. Man made reactors have not been successful yet, but the most promising are the tokamak types, which are toroidal chambers where a plasma containing the fuel in gaseous form is heated to a very high temperature to produce fusion. You can read more in Wikipedia
Describe the energy of nuclear fusion?
Nuclear fusion has not yet been achieved on Earth but it is the process by which the un and stars are believed to gain their energy. At the moment nuclear reactors use nuclear fission, which is the splitting of radioactive nucleii. Nuclear fussion is the combining, or the fusion, of atoms which would release much much more energy. Many scientists believe that this is the way we need to go to solve the energy crisis.
Where nuclear fusion reactors are found?
Even though the idea of using controlled nuclear fusion for human benefits has been studied since the 1950s, there is still no success in controlling it. Fusion reactors, then, would have to be defined as H-bombs and stars at this point. EDIT: NONSENSE! I suggest you google Tomak. This is controlled fusion and currently best international practice will get you 10x the energy you put into it. It isn't used because it is more expensive that oil, coal and fission power.
Why do all current power plants fission reactors?
If you mean why are all current nuclear power plants fission reactors, this is simply because the creation and control of nuclear fusion reactions on a scale and level suitable for commercial purposes are not currently well-understood. Experimental reactors can create and hold a plasma for a short period, and sometimes realise a small net gaing in energy, but none currently can run for an extended period. They are also technical challenges remaining around containment of the plasma and degradation of the plasma vessel due to neutron damage. The current wisdom among fusion researchers is that "commercial fusion power has been 50 years away for the last 50 years...."
