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WHAT IS NUCLEAR FUSION


Nuclear fusion is the process in which two or more lighter nuclei combine to form a single heavier nucleus.

Nuclear fusion requires extremely huge amounts of energy to bring the protons together to avoid electrostatic repulsion.  It occurs only at very higher temperatures or higher pressures. The links of fusion process are protons. Nuclear Fusion proceeds best with thermal particles where thermal means temperatures of millions of “0k”. While designing fusion power plants we use fusion reactions to create heat as we use coal in thermal plants, water in hydro plants. Best example of Nuclear Fusion is Hydrogen bomb also called as thermonuclear bomb as it requires extremely high temperatures to initiate the fusion and atom bomb is an example of Nuclear fission. A good example is the fusion of two heavy isotopes of hydrogen deuterium: H2 and tritium: H3 into the element helium. Deuterium can be found in sea water whereas tritium from lithium which is available on earth’s crust.

Nuclear fusion occurs in stars like the sun.


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