What is nuclear fusion short answer?

Nuclear fusion is a reaction through which two or more light nuclei collide to form a heavier nucleus. The nuclear fusion process occurs in elements that have a low atomic number, such as hydrogen.

What happens during fusion?

Fusion is the process that powers the sun and the stars. It is the reaction in which two atoms of hydrogen combine together, or fuse, to form an atom of helium. In the process some of the mass of the hydrogen is converted into energy. Thus fusion has the potential to be an inexhaustible source of energy.

What happens in the Sun nuclear fusion or fission?

The type of nuclear reaction taking place in the core of the Sun is known as nuclear fusion and involves hydrogen nuclei combining together to form helium. In the process, a small amount of mass (just under one per cent) is released as energy, and this makes its way to the Sun’s surface before beaming out into space.

What is nuclear fusion and how does it work?

In nuclear fusion, you get energy when two atoms join together to form one. In a fusion reactor, hydrogen atoms come together to form helium atoms, neutrons and vast amounts of energy. It’s the same type of reaction that powers hydrogen bombs and the sun.

What is the equation for nuclear fusion in the Sun?

The proton-proton chain. This is the principle fusion reaction in the Sun. Mass, in the form of hydrogen atoms, is converted to energy as described by Einstein’s formula: E = mc2.

Does nuclear fission occurs in the Sun?

Certainly radioactive decay occurs because the sun contains many radioactive isotopes including thorium, uranium etc. Basically fission happens irrespective of any environmental constraints because it is an intrinsic property of radioactive nuclides.

What part of the Sun does nuclear fusion occur?

core
The core is at the center. It the hottest region, where the nuclear fusion reactions that power the Sun occur. Moving outward, next comes the radiative (or radiation) zone. Its name is derived from the way energy is carried outward through this layer, carried by photons as thermal radiation.

Does nuclear fusion power the Sun?

Nuclear Fusion reactions power the Sun and other stars. In a fusion reaction, two light nuclei merge to form a single heavier nucleus. The process releases energy because the total mass of the resulting single nucleus is less than the mass of the two original nuclei. DT fusion produces a neutron and a helium nucleus.