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Fusion. By: Kurtis Jay and Shelby McKenna. Table of contents . 1- What is fusion 2-Uses of fusion 3-History of fusion 4-How long fusion will last 5-What fusion does 6-Advantages of fusion 7-What are disadvantages of fusion 8-Jobs relisting to fusion 9-Why can’t we use fusion now?.
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Fusion By: Kurtis Jay and Shelby McKenna
Table of contents 1- What is fusion 2-Uses of fusion 3-History of fusion 4-How long fusion will last 5-What fusion does 6-Advantages of fusion 7-What are disadvantages of fusion 8-Jobs relisting to fusion 9-Why can’t we use fusion now?
What is Fusion • What is Fusion? Fusion is the reaction in which two atoms of hydrogen combine together, “Fuse,” to form an atom of helium. During the process some of the mass of hydrogen is converted into energy. The easiest fusion reaction to make is by combining deuterium (Heavy Hydrogen) with Tritium (Heavy-Heavy Fusion) to make helium and a neutron. Deuterium is plentiful available in ordinary water therefore it is close to impossible to run out. Tritium is produced by combining the fusion neutron with the light metal lithium. This fusion has the ability to be an inexhaustible energy source.
Uses of fusion • Fusion is currently used to produce nuclear bombs on earth. It also is what makes the sun and stars shine for billions of years as they do now. If we can contain fusion we could build power plants it could generate enough energy to supply the worlds increasing energy consumption while being environmentally friendly and very effective and it is an inexhaustible energy source.
History of fusion • Fusion has been around for billions and trillions of years, it is what creates the sun and the stars. It relates to Einstein’s formula E=mc2, this equation basically said that a small amount of mass could be converted into a tremendous amount of energy. Henry Norris Russell, a leading astronomer in the U.S, summarized concisely the hints on the nature of the stellar energy source known as fusion. He stressed that the most important hint was the high temperature of the interior stars. In 1939, Hans Bethe described a quantitative theory explaining the fusion generation of the stars(Including our sun). With the general theory for fusion reactions now understood, experimental efforts to control the release of fusion energy for net energy output could now be progressed and continue today. In 1968 the Russians Tamm and Sakharov using a new type of magnetic confinement device called Tokamok caused a major stir. Their experiment ran at temperatures ten times higher (ten million degrees centigrade) than anywhere else in the world with excellent confinement results, leading to the Russians travelling to many places in the world and constructing tokamok experiments and its position as the dominant technique for fusion research today. E=mc2
How long fusion will last • Fusion as every scientist knows is an inexhaustible. You’re probably asking will the resources run out. For Fusion Power, Tritium and Deuterium are virtually inexhaustible resources, because there is one deuterium atom in every 6500 hydrogen atoms in ordinary seawater. Tritium the other resource needed for the production of fusion can be bred from lithium, an element very common in the earths crust. This means humans can continue to utilize fusion power indefinitely, after all the water supply on earth is practically unlimited.
What fusion does • The atoms of hydrogen must be heated to very high temperature’s (100 million degrees) so they are ionized which makes them form plasma and has sufficient energy to fuse, and then be held together (confined), long enough for the process fusion to occur. The sun and stars create fusion by using gravity making it easier for them but here on earth the closest we have to that is magnetic confinement, it is a more practical approach. This magnetic confinement is where a strong magnetic field holds the ionized atoms together while they are heated by microwaves or other energy sources. Inertial Confinement is where a small pellet of frozen hydrogen is compressed than heated by an intense energy beam such as a laser; it is heated so quickly fusion occurs before the atoms can fly apart.
Advantages of fusion • Unlike the burning of coal or other fossil fuels, fusion does not emit harmful toxins into the atmosphere making is eco/environmentally friendly. • Fusion only produces helium gas, this already is in the air and does not contribute to global warming. • Fission always concerns people about the nuclear waste and toxins that can seriously injure people, fusion, however, has no such problems with by-products.
Disadvantages of fusion • Scientists have not yet been able to contain a fusion reaction long enough for there to be a net energy gain. • Many countries are phasing out fusion out fusion research because of the failure to make a breakthrough.
Jobs relisting to fusion • Jobs relating to Fusion- Power Electronic Officer, Scientists, Mechanical Engineers, Civil Engineers, coordinators.
Links http://library.thinkquest.org/20331/types/fusion/problems.html http://www.efda.org/fusion_energy/short_history_of_fusion_research.htm http://fusioned.gat.com/what_is_fusion.html\ http://www.ehow.com/how-does_4570717_does-fusion-place-earth.html