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Pros And Cons Of Nuclear Fusion

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Is Nuclear Fusion Safe and Should it be Used as a Main Energy Source?

Context
Nuclear fusion is the process which occurs inside the sun, stars and hydrogen bombs(Prieto, 2013). This process unleashes enormous amounts of energy through the binding together of light elements such as hydrogen and helium and their isotopes(Matthew Hole, 2015). If fusion power were harnessed on Earth, it could produce inexhaustible clean power, using seawater as the main fuel. Nuclear fusion will produce no greenhouse gas emissions, no proliferation risk, and no risk of catastrophic accidents due to the radioactive waste being very low and indirect(Matthew Hole, 2015).
Physics of Nuclear Fusion
Nuclear Fusion powers the sun and the stars as hydrogen atoms fuse …show more content…

The D-T reaction produces a non-radioactive isotope of Helium and a Neutron as well as 17.6MeV(ITER, 2012). By harnessing this method of energy production, the Earth will see a fall in the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere. This positive aspect indicates that nuclear fusion should be used as a main energy source.
The main fuel used in fusion is seawater as deuterium and tritium can be synthesised from it. Deuterium is found in seawater at about 33g per tonne of seawater. Tritium is made from Lithium, which is also found in seawater, but can also be found from ore in the earth, 4% of which is in Australia(ITER, 2012). This a vast improvement on unrenewable energy sources like coal, gas and oil, which are getting harder and harder to come by. This aspect, again, shows that nuclear fusion would be a more sustainable and efficient main power …show more content…

This leads onto the problem of “the first wall”, which is the wall that faces the space where the reaction takes place. When exposed to neutron radiation, this wall becomes radioactive and begins to erode, thus needing replacement. However, where will the wall be discarded?(Prieto, 2013) While scientists claim the levels of radioactivity are low, the risk is still a problem, and will need research to develop a solution, which is said to be completed by 2030(Matthew Hole,

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However, mostly due to fear and the lack of knowledge, many are adverse to the use of nuclear power. Nuclear energy comes from two methods, fusion and fission. Fusion brings together tritium and deuterium to create heat energy, helium, and a neutron (Duke Energy, 2013). Nuclear fusion releases more heat energy than fission, however it is more difficult to control, so it is not currently a viable energy process (Duke Energy, 2013). However, the sun is an example of nuclear fusion, in how it produces heat.

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Nuclear fission occurs when an atom splits and releases energy. Nuclear fission is cheap and produces more energy than fossil fuels, but it releases hazardous waste. Another method of using energy must be found. Enter nuclear fusion. Nuclear fusion is the exact opposite of fission, in which two atoms join together.

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The great challenges and Engineering solutions to the problems of the 21st century Title: Nuclear fusion Author: Ashley Pinto (B00078756) Date: 28-09-2012 Introduction: In this essay I hope to talk to you about nuclear fusion. I will do this by outlining a few important aspects to take into consideration when talking about nuclear fusion.

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The Tsar Bomba is the biggest nuclear explosive ever tested and has an explosive yield equivalent to 50 megatons of TNT, imagine if that same energy was used to generate power, minus the destructive side effects. Stars already do this, and emit the energy created by fusion as electromagnetic radiation and particle radiation, such as visible light and alpha particles, two neutrons and protons bound together. Fusion is technically a form of nuclear energy, but the radiation caused from it is actually lower than the background radiation people find themselves in daily. There are no harmful by products of fusion, only helium, making it clean and eco-friendly. Like nuclear fission, fusion reactors use the heated generated by a fusion reaction to

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Nuclear Fusion: O.K. we know that Nuclear energy is basically the energy source of star, so the only logical example i could give you , is our Sun. Comparing both of them: Nuclear fission: Generates enormous amounts of energy, and as stated in Nuclear Fission , all of that energy

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These isotopes are most commonly used as nuclear fuels in nuclear reactors as their nuclei are fairly large which makes it easier to split. Nuclear fuels do not release energy by being burned instead, heat energy is released when there is a change in the nucleus. In order for the fission to occur the nucleus

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Pros of initiate nuclear fusion • Initiate nuclear fusion reaction is happened by heating and compressing a fuel pellets. So no greenhouse gas is produced. It is a clean energy source. • The most common fuels used in initiate nuclear fusion are deuterium & tritium. Those fuels are limitless.

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Nuclear fission is a reaction that involves the splitting of a heavy nucleus to produce lighter nuclei. Nuclear fission causes a large amount of energy to be released that humans and scientists in this day of age can use handle, create and produce. It’s powerful. We should be able to use nuclear fission as a source of energy. Nuclear fission isn’t difficult to understand at all, it’s very simple.

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This question focused on the future of technology and why it so effective however after discussing it with various other individuals including my physics teacher I decided to refined my question a couple time to finally come up with “Why despite its significant environmental benefits, is fusion energy still underfunded in western society”. This question was more appropriate as it enables me to research both the political and scientific reasoning as to why the technology is underfunded as well as comparing it to other renewable energy sources. To successfully answer this question, I will need to break the question down into smaller key findings explain what fusion energy is, why it is effective compared to other energy sources and finally why is it underfunded in western

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Nuclear energy may be the solution that eliminates our concern for energy production in the future, but it still remains a huge issue for the environment. Despite its wide use in many developed countries, nuclear energy poses many threats to both the

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Currently, fission is widely used reactor around the world and used the chemical element uranium as a fuel. Fusion has not been actually used as a reactor to produce electricity yet because the technology to control it is unknown. The nuclear power plant was not unattractive till the Fukushima accident in 2011. Fukushima Daiichi is a

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The potential is limitless, and it should be realized as they have low greenhouse gas emissions, are efficient, powerful, cheap and reliable. Positives outweigh the negatives, and we should keep on using nuclear energy. Firstly, nuclear power generation has low greenhouse gas emissions, which make it good for the environment. The actual fission

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