wht's needed 4 nuclear fusion to start?
Hydrogen nuclie fuse?
To initiate nuclear fusion, several conditions need to be met. The most important requirements are high temperatures, high pressures, and the presence of hydrogen isotopes.
1. High temperatures: Nuclear fusion requires extremely high temperatures, typically in the range of millions of degrees. At such temperatures, hydrogen nuclei possess significant kinetic energy, allowing them to overcome the electrostatic repulsion and come close enough for the strong nuclear force to bind them together.
2. High pressures: Alongside high temperatures, high pressures are necessary to confine the hydrogen isotopes within a small enough space for fusion to occur. These pressures can be achieved using various containment methods, such as magnetic confinement or inertial confinement.
3. Hydrogen isotopes: Hydrogen nuclei consist of a single proton, but nuclear fusion usually involves the isotopes deuterium (hydrogen-2) and tritium (hydrogen-3). These isotopes have one and two neutrons, respectively. Deuterium is quite abundant in seawater, while tritium can be produced from lithium.
In most fusion reactions, deuterium and tritium nuclei collide, overcoming the electrostatic repulsion and fusing together to form a helium nucleus and releasing a high-energy neutron. This process releases an enormous amount of energy, which can be harnessed for various purposes.
It is important to note that nuclear fusion is an ongoing field of research and technological development. Scientists are still working on developing practical fusion reactors that can achieve sustained fusion reactions, as well as addressing various technical challenges involved in harnessing fusion as a viable energy source.