The Pros And Cons Of Nuclear Fusion

945 Words4 Pages
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. I hope to tell you what nuclear fusion is and when it was discovered. I hope to talk about the dangers involved with nuclear fusion and will it be controlled. I want to talk a bit about some previous nuclear disasters that humanity has faced in the past. I hope to talk a little bit about nuclear waste. I also hope to talk about some applications of nuclear energy in the 21st century. I hope to talk about some future uses of nuclear fusion that I have thought of. Finally I hope to give a conclusion about nuclear fusion and talk about what I have learned. Nuclear Fusion: What is nuclear fusion? In nuclear physics,(1)nuclear fusion is a reaction in which two or smaller atomic nuclei collide at a very high speed and join to form a larger atomic nucleus, the result of which is a large amount of energy. We can see this process in an active star. The first recorded experiments of nuclear fusion was in Cambridge in the UK during the 1930’s, however the experiments where a failure and the idea of nuclear fusion was mocked and abandoned. After World War II, nuclear fusion became a hot topic, especially following the success of the Manhattan