Im not a science geek so i dont know this, but i do know that its a chemical reaction between hydrogen atoms. Tell me more plz! I have a science quiz tomorrow!!!
2007-09-26 11:27:58 · 8 answers · asked by robert_pattinson<3 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Astronomy & Space
short and sweet plz!
2007-09-26 12:08:30 · update #1
oh, and my teacher told me it was a chemical reaction so u guys r kinda confusing me...
2007-09-26 12:09:05 · update #2
It's not a chemical reaction. Chemical reactions involve basically the "outer part" of the atom, where the electrons are. Chemical reactions take place when atoms join together or break apart because of electrical attraction and repulsion. When two atoms join in a chemical reaction, the little nucleus (an incredibly tiny dot in the center of the atom) is not really involved; just the "big," outer layers where the electrons are.
Fusion is a "nuclear" reaction. Nuclear reactions happen when the nucleus itself changes; either it breaks apart, or spits out some pieces, or it joins with other pieces.
Fusion happens when the nucleus of an atom "fuses" (joins) with some other nuclear particles (neutrons or protons), so that the nucleus actually gets heavier. When this happens, some of the mass of the fusing parts actually turns into energy, which comes out as a spark of light or heat, or a gamma ray, etc. That's why fusion is a source of energy.
It's usually very difficult to make two nuclei fuse. That's because every atom's nucleus contains positively charged particles (called protons). Positive charges repel each other (just like when you try to push two North ends of two magnets together, they repel), So when you try to push two hydrogen nuclei together, the positively charged protons resist, and try to push the nuclei apart.
If you get the nuclei moving very fast (by raising the temperature), and squish them very close together (by raising the pressure), then you can overcome the repulsion and get them to "stick". This is what happens inside the sun, where the temperature and pressure are enormous.
2007-09-26 11:38:10 · answer #1 · answered by RickB 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Fusion is not a chemical reaction, it is a nuclear reaction. Fusion is the fusing together of atomic nuclei to create or form another atom. Our sun is converting approximately 600 million tons of hydrogen into helium every second through nuclear fusion. The initial total mass of the hydrogen fused together is greater than the resulting mass of the helium. The missing matter was converted into energy. The conversion rate or factor is c, or the speed of light. This is what E=mc^2 represents.
A chemical reaction is the combining of atoms of different elements to form compounds. Burning is an example of this process. Burning is also sometimes called oxidation. All the oiriginal atoms at the start of the process are there at the end, they just may be in different compounds. Whereas, fusion creates entirely new atoms; just like fission which is the splitting apart of an atomic nucleus.
2007-09-26 13:01:25 · answer #2 · answered by quntmphys238 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
well your teacher was wrong. chemical reactions usually involve the electrons of an atom, while nuclear fusion involves the nucleus (protons and neutrons, most of the time just protons).
the simplest form of nuclear fusion is what happens in our sun. its basically when temperatures get so high and atoms are moving so fast that they can collide and actually fuse together. our sun is only large enough to fuse hydrogen atoms into helium, and then helium into carbon. stars and can fuse elements all the way up to iron.
its not a chemical reaction, its a nuclear reaction, your teacher is completely wrong.
2007-09-26 15:23:34 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
It is not (repeat --NOT--) a chemical reaction. It is a nuclear reaction involving protons (usually hydrogen atoms, but you can get anything to fuse if you get it hot enough and under high enough pressure). When 2 hydrogen atoms fuse to form a single atom of helium, they lose a very small amount of mass. But, since e=mc² and c is a very big number (which makes c² simply huge) there is a lot of energy released.
Doug
2007-09-26 11:51:58 · answer #4 · answered by doug_donaghue 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
In a chemical reaction, 2 atoms will get close together and share electrons, but the nucleuses will still be separate.
In a fusion reaction, 2 atoms will get together so close (due to high heat and pressure), that the 2 nucleuses will fuse together, forming a completely new (heavier) atom.
.
2007-09-26 13:00:34 · answer #5 · answered by tlbs101 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Nuclear fusion is the process of creating new elements from the combination of simpler ones.
On the most basic level, the Sun emits its energy via nuclear fusion; it creates one atom of Helium by fusing the nuclear cores (protons) of Hydrogen atoms under extremely intense pressures.
For every four atoms of Hydrogen, the Sun fuses them into one atom of Helium, releasing energy in the form of heat in the process.
2007-09-26 11:41:22 · answer #6 · answered by Bobby 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Fusion is a process in which two or more lighter nuclei combine to form heavier nucleus.The mass of the single nucleus formed is less than the initial mass.The difference in mass is converted into energy.This energy which is liberated is called themo-nuclear energy.
2007-09-29 21:15:24 · answer #7 · answered by Arasan 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Our sun is a fusion machine. Aproaches 100% efficient mass to energy energy conversion efficiency. Many places to read about this on-line. not enough room in here!
2007-09-26 11:37:08 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋