Nuclear Fusion
Fusion, the process that powers our sun and stars, is when two small nuclei come together to form a bigger one, resulting in the release of nuclear energy. However, when these two combine, the mass of the product is less than sum of the its reactants. This is due to part of the mass being given off and used as energy, a concept described in Einstein’s energy theory. Also, Einstein’s E=mc² formula and the atomic bomb have a connection, showing that his ideas/theories contributed to the creation of nuclear weapons and mainly the understanding of how fusion and fission work.
It is important not to confuse fusion with fission. These are two distinct types of nuclear energy. The difference between these two energies is that fusion is the process of two atoms combining together to make one,
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Fusion energy is not available to be used as a resource because of the extremely strong electrostatic forces between the nuclei (World Nuclear Association). Also, for this process to take place, we need a temperature of about 100 million degrees Celsius which is more than five times hotter than the Sun’s core. On Earth the amount of energy we need to put in to produce that type of extreme pressure or heat is much, much greater than what we get out in usable energy, showing us that the amount of energy is unimaginably huge. In the 1930's German-American nuclear physicist, Hans Bethe, discovered that nuclear fusion existed and that it was an energy resource for the sun. A few years later, this topic was discussed oftenly so researchers started to find different techniques to control and get in touch with these reactions because they wanted to the reactions to help create resourceful energy on Earth. However, this was tough because there are specific requirements that is needed for the reaction to occur (such as a very high