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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.

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Why is it so difficult to get fusion reactors to work?

Fusion reactors require extremely high temperatures and pressures to recreate the energy-producing reactions that occur in the sun. Containing and controlling these conditions in a stable and efficient manner has been a major challenge. Additionally, the technology needed to sustain a controlled fusion reaction at a scale large enough for practical energy production is still under development.


How can plasma be used as power?

Plasma can be used as a power source through controlled nuclear fusion reactions, where the high energy of plasma particles generate heat that can be converted into electricity. By confining and heating plasma to extreme temperatures and pressures, like in a tokamak device, fusion reactions occur, releasing energy that can be harnessed for power generation. However, efficient and sustainable plasma-based fusion power plants are still under development.


What type of nuclear burst occurs under?

A thermonuclear burst occurs under conditions of extremely high temperature and pressure, causing the fusion of atomic nuclei and resulting in a powerful release of energy.


Can you explain what cold fusion is?

Cold Fusion is a form of nuclear fusion intended to produce energy at room temperature (or near RT) as opposed to the extremely high temperatures required by today's understanding of modern physics This is only a hypothetical concept presented by many scientists who have laid claim to achieving such a mechanism. But as of today no one has come close to proving the phenomenon can occur under such conditions.After years of the scientific community rushing to find a solution to "cold fusion," it has been abandoned for the most part, and is regarded as a "close friend" of such things as unicorns and leprechauns, although one must never rule out an idea because the current technology makes it seem implausible!


What temperature does hydrogen turn into helium?

Hydrogen turns into helium through nuclear fusion at temperatures around 15 million degrees Celsius, which occur in the core of stars like the Sun. During this process, hydrogen nuclei combine to form helium nuclei, releasing energy in the form of light and heat.

Related Questions

Why is it so difficult to get fusion reactors to work?

Fusion reactors require extremely high temperatures and pressures to recreate the energy-producing reactions that occur in the sun. Containing and controlling these conditions in a stable and efficient manner has been a major challenge. Additionally, the technology needed to sustain a controlled fusion reaction at a scale large enough for practical energy production is still under development.


Where can nuclear reactions occur?

One type of nuclear reactions is fusion. This usually occur under extreme conditions - extreme temperatures and pressures. This most commonly occurs in the center of stars (including our Sun); in some cases also on the surface of a star (when matter falls onto the star, temporarily producing the high temperatures required). So far, it it not economically practical to do this artificially (search for "fusion reactor") - except for the destructive H-bomb. Fusion reactions usually occur if sufficient amounts of Uranium or some other heavy elements come together. This is the case with a nuclear reactor, and an atomic bomb.


Can you freeze a cloud?

Yes, under certain conditions, it is possible for a cloud to freeze. This can occur at high altitudes where temperatures are extremely cold, causing the water droplets in the cloud to freeze into ice crystals.


Which phase of matter do fusion reactions occur?

Fusion reactions occur in the plasma phase, which is a super-hot, fully ionized state, where the electrons have been stripped off, eliminating them from electromagnetic contention for the subsequent fusion event that occurs under enormous pressure.


Where does the sun generate its energy?

The Sun generates its energy through nuclear fusion in its core. This process involves the fusion of hydrogen atoms to form helium, releasing vast amounts of energy in the form of heat and light. The core of the Sun is extremely hot and under immense pressure, allowing for nuclear fusion to occur.


What is nuclear fuison?

Nuclearfusion is an energy supplying process which happens in the sun and the stars since billions of years. The fusion process takes place at extraordinary high temperatures at which matter is in the fourth state, the plasma. A plasma is composed of free atomic nuclei (ions) and electrons. In the inner of the sun fusion reactions occur at some 15 million degrees. Under terristic boundary conditions the plasma is confined by strong magnetic fields at temperatures as high as some 100 million degrees and at extremely low density (about 250.000 times lower than the terristic atmosphere


What is the by-product of nuclear fusion?

The main by-product of nuclear fusion is helium, which is formed when hydrogen atoms combine under high temperatures and pressures. Additionally, energy in the form of electromagnetic radiation, such as gamma rays, is also released during the fusion process.


Why enormously high temperature necessary for fusion reaction to take place?

Because the nuclei involved have to be squeezed very hard together, to overcome the repulsion that similar charges naturally have for each other (ie electrostatic repulsion). In fact in experiments on earth with tokamaks, the pressure is not high but temperatures have to be made extremely high, higher than in stars where pressure at the star's centre is very much higher than can be achieved on earth. This is to encourage the nuclei to get close enough for fusion to occur, but so far on earth only short bursts of fusion have been achieved, whereas the sun has been burning for billions of years.


Did some rocks exist in a liquid state?

Yes, magma is a mixture of liquid rock, minerals, and dissolved gases. It takes extremely high temperatures to melt rock which is why it is often only found under the Earth's surface where temperatures are extremely high.


How are each what related to the sun prominecessolar flares coronasolar windchromosphere photosphere?

Nuclear fusion is an energy supplying process which happens in the sun and the stars since billions of years. The fusion process takes place at extraordinary high temperatures at which matter is in the fourth state, the plasma. A plasma is composed of free atomic nuclei (ions) and electrons. In the inner of the sun fusion reactions occur at some 15 million degrees. Under terristic boundary conditions the plasma is confined by strong magnetic fields at temperatures as high as some 100 million


How can plasma be used as power?

Plasma can be used as a power source through controlled nuclear fusion reactions, where the high energy of plasma particles generate heat that can be converted into electricity. By confining and heating plasma to extreme temperatures and pressures, like in a tokamak device, fusion reactions occur, releasing energy that can be harnessed for power generation. However, efficient and sustainable plasma-based fusion power plants are still under development.


What type of nuclear burst occurs under?

A thermonuclear burst occurs under conditions of extremely high temperature and pressure, causing the fusion of atomic nuclei and resulting in a powerful release of energy.