What happens in a nuclear fusion reaction????

Answer 1

Two lighter atoms, like two hydrogen atoms, combine to make one heavier atom, like one helium atom. Helium is still pretty light, but it is not as light as hydrogen. That releases energy. Lots of it. Note that it is the NUCLEUS of the atoms that combine to make a new type of atom, not two atoms combining to make a molecule. You can combine atoms to make molecules, like two hydrogen atoms and oxygen atom to make one water molecule, but that gives MUCH less energy.

Answer 2

Atoms are the basic unit at which everything in the universe is made of. They can be broken down in to smaller units; protons and neutrons make up the nucleus, and electrons which orbit the nucleus and keep other atoms from occupying the same space as the atom. Basically electrons repulse other electrons and keep atoms seperated. If they didn't repulse each other then you would fall through the chair you are sitting in like a ghost. Atoms are actually made up of mostly empty space. If an atom was a baseball field then a bag of peas on the pitchers mound would be the nucleus and a swarm of nats around the bleachers would be the electrons. That's a lot of empty space...this is why radiation, depending on it's energy level, can travel through materials. Neutrinos can actually fly right through the earth with out even hitting an atomic nucleus most of the time. This is why neutrino detectors are planted deep in the earth. But back to nuclear fusion. The electrons, as I was saying, repulse other electrons and keep atoms seperated. But under incredible heat and pressure you can actually squeeze atoms closer and closer and cause the electrons in the atoms to squeeze right up against the nucleus of the atom. Keep in mind that temperature is simply a biproduct of the more active electrons and it is the pressure that causes fusion and not the heat. Once the electrons have been pushed in to the nucleus of the atom then atoms are able to fuse together to create heavier elements and in the process release huge amounts of leftover energy that isn't needed for the new element. The reaction in the sun is called a thermonuclear reaction because it basically sets on a chain of nuclear fusion reactions inside it's core. I hope this helps answer your question. Goodluck!

Answer 3

Energy Production in the Sun by Nuclear Fusion
Matter is made of atoms

Here is a tour of the atomic world.

We need to know the players in the game and the rules -- that is the particles and their interactions.

The middle of the Sun is a very hot gas. It is ionized: all of the electrons have been ripped away from the nuclei because it is so hot. The nuclei available are mostly 1H, quite a lot of 4He, and a few 2H and 3He. (There are a few other types, but they are not so important for us.)

What is happening in the middle of the Sun is analogous to burning methane:


C H4 + 2 O2 --> C O2 + 2 H2 O
In this reaction, the final molecules have less internal energy than the starting molecules. Since energy is conserved, the extra energy is released as energy of motion of the molecules. That is the gas gets hotter. The amount of energy involved is 5.5 eV each time the reaction above happens.
As we have seen, much more energy than that must be involved in the reactions inside the Sun and other stars. The evidence is strong that the overall reaction is "burning" hydrogen to make helium:

4 1H + 2 e --> 4He + 2 neutrinos + 6 photons
In this reaction, the final particles have less internal energy than the starting particles. Since energy is conserved, the extra energy is released as energy of motion of the nuclei and electrons in the solar gas, the production of lots of low energy photons and, finally, the energy of the neutrinos, which just zip right out of the Sun. That is the gas gets hotter and has lots of photons (and neutrinos). The amount of energy involved is 26 MeV = 26 x 106 eV each time the reaction above happens.
Why do we think that this is what goes on?

Energy output of millions of eV per reaction is needed if the Sun has been producing energy at the observed rate over billions of years.
The reactions exist. (They have been studied in the laboratory.)
There is a consistent step-by-step theory for the reaction. (We will study this a bit.)

Answer 4

What Is A Fusion Reaction

Answer 5

What happens in a nuclear fusion reaction????

In layman terms.

It takes more energy to get the reaction going, so far only power burst are achieved, continuous reaction has eluded the best known reactors, in the best known laboratories and research facilities.

Hydrogen bomb is the example of this reaction, so it is so far useful only in weapon system.

There are various program to generate electricity from this type of reaction but there is no end in sight yet. It does not create much atomic waste, in this you are trying to generate energy by fussing the atoms together.

Fission is a process opposite of fusion, it relies on breaking down of an atom of a radioactive element of higher atomic number to lesser number elements, resulting in a radio active or non radioactive elements. All reactors in the world that produce electrical energy for the electrical grids all over the world are using this method of producing the heat, this heat is used to generate steam and the turbines are powered by the steam to produce electricity by turning the generators.

Both produces usable heat.

The only continuous reactor that uses fusion as the method of producing energy continuously is our sun. It is doing it for a long, long time, non stop.

Answer 6

This Site Might Help You.

RE:
What happens in a nuclear fusion reaction????

Answer 7

In physics and nuclear chemistry, nuclear fusion is the process by which multiple atomic particles join together to form a heavier nucleus. It is accompanied by the release or absorption of energy. Iron and nickel nuclei have the largest binding energies per nucleon of all nuclei and therefore are the most stable.

If light nuclei are forced together, they will fuse with a yield of energy because the mass of the combination will be less than the sum of the masses of the individual nuclei. If the combined nuclear mass is less than that of iron at the peak of the binding energy curve, then the nuclear particles will be more tightly bound than they were in the lighter nuclei, and that decrease in mass comes off in the form of energy according to the Einstein relationship. For elements heavier than iron, fission will yield energy.

Conditions required : In addition to providing a sufficiently high temperature to enable the particles to overcome the Coulomb barrier, that temperature must be maintained for a sufficient confinement time and with a sufficient ion density in order to obtain a net yield of energy from a fusion reaction. The overall conditions which must be met for a yield of more energy than is required for the heating of the plasma are usually stated in terms of the product of ion density and confinement time, a condition called Lawson's criterion.

Answer 8

Basically atoms or particles smash together to formed changed particles and in the process raditions and smaller particles are emitted.

In a chain reaction this process is ongoing and continual.

It usually takes proper conditions to make this happen.

Artificailly it requires a variety of nuclear material, hydrogen elements and a fission trigger to generate gamma rays and such required to stimulate atomic movement and smash the atoms together.

Naturally some type of gravity well is probably required along with the proper chemical subantaces (elements) to generate all the particles necessary for a chain reaction.

Answer 9

When the temperature of the sun's core becomes high enough to begin fusion, four atoms of hydrogen are fused into one atom of helium, however there is a slight loss of mass, the helium atom weighs a bit less than four hydrogen atoms, the missing mass has been turned into pure energy and it radiates out as visible light. The missing mass has undergone E equals MC squared.

Answer 10

in nuclear fusion
2hydrogen atoms combine to form 1 helium atom with extreme release of energy
this fusion happens on the sun which keeps it burning in the space

for more info visit
www.wikipedia.com

Answer 11

The force and temperature of the explosion forces hydrogen atoms together so hard that the nuclei merge together and become helium. There is quite a bit of energy left over and this energy does the same to other hydrogen nuclei and it becomes a chain reaction. Our Sun is a star and stars are actually gigantic hydrogen bombs but they are so large that their gravity holds in the explosive force.