Fusion

Abstract

This chapter discusses nuclear fusion reaction. When two light nuclear particles combine or “fuse” together, energy is released because the product nuclei have less mass than the original particles. Such fusion reactions can be caused by bombarding targets with charged particles, using an accelerator, or by raising the temperature of a gas to a high enough level for nuclear reactions to take place. The most favorable fusion reactions involve deuterium, which is a natural component of water and thus, is a very abundant fuel. The reaction takes place only when the nuclei have a high enough speed to overcome the electrostatic repulsion of their charges. In a highly ionized electrical medium, the plasma, at temperatures of the order of 400,000,000 K, the fusion energy can exceed the energy loss due to radiation. The chapter describes the interactions in the microscopic sense and discusses the phenomena that affect the ability to achieve a practical large-scale source of energy from fusion.