A R FU S I ON

NUC LE
r i ni vas a n R
S a nj ay S
By:
 NUCLEAR FUSION
 Two lighter nuclei combine or
‘fuse’ to form a heavier nucleus Important Symbols and Meanings:
- Nuclear fusion reaction.
Example:  : Gamma Radiation. High Frequency. Electromagnetic.
 2 H + 2H → 3He + n + Energy
• In the above reaction Deuterium Positron Neutrino Electron

fuses with another Deuterium to •• Has

Has the
the same
same •• Has
Has almost
almost thethe •• It
It has
has aa mass of
mass -31
of
mass
mass as Electron,
as Electron, same mass
same mass has has about 9.1*10
about 9.1*10 -31
give us and Isotope of Helium – but
but opposite in
opposite in positron.
positron. It
It is
is kg.
kg. It
It has
has an
an
charge,
charge, that is +1.
that is electrically absolute
absolute charge of
charge
which is He+3 and a neutron. +1. electrically
neutral. -1.
of
neutral. -1.
 Note: Elements which have lower
binding energy (in Mev than) 56Fe •• Symbol: +
Symbol: ee+ • Symbol: •• Symbol: e -
Symbol: e-
tend to undergo nuclear fusion.
 Nuclear Fusion in
Visual Animation
the Sun
Requirement
• Very high temperatures. Only then,
atoms can undergo fusion to form a new
element.
Reason for High Temperature
Requirement
• Fusion Reactions need extreme heat and
pressure to be supplied into them. So, for
them to give out high amounts of energy,
they much take in a good amount of
energy.
 Nuclear Fusion is the source of Energy
for our Sun and Other Stars
 Nuclear Fusion in the Sun
 Process
• Under extreme temperature and pressure,
the protons or the other isotopes of
hydrogen have very high velocity and
thereby, very high K.E.
• So, they bump into each other a lot of times,
and fuse to form Helium.
• This releases a tremendous amount of
energy, as per Einstein’s equation: E = mc2.
Small loss in mass, tremendous amount of
Energy.
 Two Cycles of Nuclear Fusions
• Two proposed ways/cycles of Fusion in Sun. First Carbon-
Nitrogen cycle. Second is Proton Cycle or Proton-Proton
Chain Reaction.
1) Carbon-Nitrogen Cycle:
• In this cycle, Carbon acts as a Nuclear Catalyst to drive the
reactions.
• Involves several Fusion Reactions.
• Ultimately, Hydrogen is converted into helium and
releases a lot of Energy.
 Nuclear Fusion in the Sun
• The
  following reactions take place:

• At end 4 Hydrogens fuse into A He+2 Nucleus. The sum of all the energies released in the form of radiation
gives the total energy released.
 Nuclear Fusion in the Sun
•  2) Proton-proton fusion process by chain reaction.
It involves the following steps

24.7 MeV
• 4 Protons fuse together to form He+2 ion . Mass of 4 protons is slightly more than the mass of
an Then, by Einstein’s equation, the remaining mass is converted into energy. Let us calculate
the Energy released.
 Worked Example - Sample
•  Mass of 4 Protons = Mass of
(Actually 4.001506.., but for our purposes, we can take it as 4 u). ‘u’ - unified
atomic mass unit. 1u is exactly one-twelfth the mass of 1 atom of C-12
• Loss in mass of around 0.032u is observed. Converting it into S.I Units of
Kilograms, we get: . Using Einstein’s Equation: E = mc2

• When we convert it to moles, we get: , which gives , which is a lot of energy.

Hundreds, if not thousands of such moles give immense energy.
 Summary
••  Process by which lighter elements fuse to form a heavier one is called Nuclear Fusion Reaction.
• The products of Fusion are not radioactive, so, they are harmless and can be disposed easily.

• Disadvantage is that we have not been able to get a controlled Nuclear Fusion, so, it is extremely dangerous, with
an enormous amount of heat being released.

• It is the fuel for Sun and other Stars to Produce Energy.

• It requires extremely High Temperatures to ‘sustain’ Nuclear Fusion, approximately 15 Million K

• In Sun, two proposed cycles help in Nuclear Fusion, namely the Carbon-Nitrogen Cycle and the Proton-Proton
Chain Reaction.

• By Einstein’s Mass-Energy Equivalence, we get that the loss in mass during Fusion Reaction releases a lot of energy.

• Usually, by the Proton-Proton Chain Reaction, an energy equivalent of 24.7 MeV is released.

• Difference in the mass before and after the reaction gives us the Mass Defect. So,
TH AN K YO U

By: Sanjay Srinivasan R