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Physics Lesson 20.4.10 - Application in Practice of Nuclear Fusion Reactions
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Welcome to our Physics lesson on Application in Practice of Nuclear Fusion Reactions, this is the tenth lesson of our suite of physics lessons covering the topic of Nuclear Reactions, you can find links to the other lessons within this tutorial and access additional physics learning resources below this lesson.
Application in Practice of Nuclear Fusion Reactions
In the following paragraphs of this article, we will provide some examples of application in practice of nuclear fusion reactions.
a. Hydrogen bomb
This bomb consists of two main parts: nuclear bomb, which produces the neutrons needed for the transformation of lithium into tritium and at the same time, it brings the system at high temperature, as needed for enabling the fusion reaction. This is the primary bomb. There is also a second part (secondary bomb), which consists of a mixture of lithium and deuterium. Neutrons produce tritium and helium according the above reaction. The figure below shows a scheme of hydrogen (thermonuclear) bomb.
Despite the hydrogen bomb being clean in itself (although it causes harm in living organisms and structural damage in the surrounding objects due to high explosive power), there is some radioactive pollution caused by the incorporated nuclear bomb that provides the initial ignition (nuclear bombs use uranium as primary source of energy).
b. Neutron bomb
This bomb makes use of fast neutrons emitted during a fusion reaction. The energy of these neutrons is able to seriously harm living organisms and cause their death. Neutron bombs are not environment pollutants as they are not radioactive. Likewise, neutron bombs do not cause harm to building structures.
c. Neutron Generators
In some cases, the technology used in neutron bombs can be used to generate new neutrons needed for nuclear reactions. However, to avoid radioactive pollution, an electric field is used instead of radioactive material to accelerate the nuclei in order to obtain fast neutrons. This electric field is obtained by creating a potential difference of several hundreds of kilovolts. After gaining enough speed, the nuclei hit a target enriched with tritium. At this point, nuclear fusion takes place - a process which results in generation of fast neutrons that can eventually be used for various purposes.
d. Energy production
As explained earlier, energy is another product of nuclear reactions besides the changes in the structure of matter involved in the process. This energy turns into heat during the deceleration of fast neutrons. The high temperature achieved during this process brings a continuity in the process resulting in a sustainable source of energy.
This technology however, bears two issues: (1) how to keep the deuterium and tritium enclosed in fixed containers in such high temperatures by avoiding explosion, and (2) how to extract the extra energy form there, in order to convert it into other forms of energy. In other words, how to keep under control a thermonuclear reaction? This is still an unaddressed issue despite the huge advancements in technology. If scientist are able to find a way to overcome these drawbacks in the future, then the issue of energy production will be definitively addressed.
Currently, we use a small portion of thermonuclear energy produced naturally in the Sun. The good news in this regard is that we are too far to be affected by the harmful effects of such non-controllable thermonuclear fusion processes.
You have reached the end of Physics lesson 20.4.10 Application in Practice of Nuclear Fusion Reactions. There are 11 lessons in this physics tutorial covering Nuclear Reactions, you can access all the lessons from this tutorial below.
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