The ITER international fusion energy experiment will be scientists’ first attempt at creating a self-sustained fusion reaction for long durations.FES also partners with the DOE’s National Nuclear Security Administration to pursue fundamental research on fusion reactions in support of DOE’s nuclear stockpile stewardship mission. They work with the Advanced Scientific Computing Research program to use scientific computing to advance fusion science as well as the Nuclear Physics program on nuclear reaction databases, generation of nuclear isotopes, and research in nucleosynthesis. To do so, FES partners with other Office of Science programs. The Department of Energy Office of Science, Fusion Energy Sciences (FES) program seeks to develop a practical fusion energy source. Researchers focus on DT reactions both because they produce large amounts of energy and they occur at lower temperatures than other elements. In a potential future fusion power plant such as a tokamak or stellarator, neutrons from DT reactions would generate power for our use. In the process, it also releases much more energy than most fusion reactions. DT fusion produces a neutron and a helium nucleus. However, researchers working on fusion energy applications are especially interested in the deuterium-tritium (DT) fusion reaction. If scientists develop a way to harness energy from fusion in machines on Earth, it could be an important method of energy production.įusion can involve many different elements in the periodic table. Einstein’s equation (E=mc 2), which says in part that mass and energy can be converted into each other, explains why this process occurs. The process releases energy because the total mass of the resulting single nucleus is less than the mass of the two original nuclei. The leftover mass becomes energy. In a fusion reaction, two light nuclei merge to form a single heavier nucleus. One class of nuclear weapon is the hydrogen bomb, which uses a fission reaction to "trigger" a fusion reaction.Nuclear Fusion reactions power the Sun and other stars. One class of nuclear weapon is a fission bomb, also known as an atomic bomb or atom bomb. The energy released by fusion is three to four times greater than the energy released by fission. The energy released by fission is a million times greater than that released in chemical reactions but lower than the energy released by nuclear fusion. Takes little energy to split two atoms in a fission reaction.Įxtremely high energy is required to bring two or more protons close enough that nuclear forces overcome their electrostatic repulsion. High density, high temperature environment is required. The main difference between these two processes is that fission is the splitting of an atom into two or more smaller ones while fusion is the fusing of two or more smaller atoms into a larger one.įission is the splitting of a large atom into two or more smaller ones.įusion is the fusing of two or more lighter atoms into a larger one.įission reaction does not normally occur in nature.įission produces many highly radioactive particles.įew radioactive particles are produced by fusion reaction, but if a fission "trigger" is used, radioactive particles will result from that.Ĭritical mass of the substance and high-speed neutrons are required. Nuclear fusion and nuclear fission are two different types of energy-releasing reactions in which energy is released from high-powered atomic bonds between the particles within the nucleus.
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