Which of the following describes the process of nuclear fusion, as it occurs inside our sun? Hydrogen and oxygen atoms combine to make water molecules. Hydrogen atoms combine to make helium atoms. ... What will a star that’s 1,000 times as massive as the sun ultimately become?
What describes the process of nuclear fusion as it occurs inside our sun?
The Sun shines because it is able to convert energy from gravity into light . ... This is what happens to the hydrogen gas in the core of the Sun. It gets squeeze together so tightly that four hydrogen nuclei combine to form one helium atom. This is called nuclear fusion.
Which of the following describes the process of nuclear fusion?
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. The leftover mass becomes energy.
How do we know that nuclear fusion is still going on in the Sun?
Unlike light, neutrinos can pass through the Sun untouched (in fact, they can pass through pretty much anything untouched). ... Therefore, observations of neutrinos from the direction of the Sun show that the Sun is undergoing nuclear fusion reactions right up until the present day.
What are the 3 steps of nuclear fusion?
- Two protons within the Sun fuse. ...
- A third proton collides with the formed deuterium. ...
- Two helium-3 nuclei collide, creating a helium-4 nucleus plus two extra protons that escape as two hydrogen.
Is nuclear fusion is difficult to control?
Because fusion requires such extreme conditions, “if something goes wrong, then it stops. No heat lingers after the fact.” With fission, uranium is split apart, so the atoms are radioactive and generate heat, even when the fission ends. Despite its many benefits, however, fusion power is an arduous source to achieve.
What is nuclear fusion with example?
An example of nuclear fusion is the process of four hydrogens coming together to form helium . (physics) The combining of the nuclei of small atoms to form the nuclei of larger ones, with a resulting release of large quantities of energy; the process that makes the sun shine, and hydrogen bomb explode.
What elements are used in nuclear fusion?
The main fuels used in nuclear fusion are deuterium and tritium, both heavy isotopes of hydrogen . Deuterium constitutes a tiny fraction of natural hydrogen, only 0,0153%, and can be extracted inexpensively from seawater. Tritium can be made from lithium, which is also abundant in nature.
Which is a characteristic of nuclear fusion?
Fusion requires a large amount of energy and occurs in stars . Fusion produces large amounts of energy, and the fuel is found on Earth. Fusion produces no radioactive waste, and the fuel is plentiful. Fusion requires little energy to begin and would continue through a chain reaction.
Is the Sun a fusion reaction?
The Sun is a main-sequence star, and thus generates its energy by nuclear fusion of hydrogen nuclei into helium . In its core, the Sun fuses 500 million metric tons of hydrogen each second.
Is the Sun nuclear fusion?
In the core of the Sun hydrogen is being converted into helium . This is called nuclear fusion. It takes four hydrogen atoms to fuse into each helium atom. During the process some of the mass is converted into energy.
Does the Sun do nuclear fission?
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.
How many steps are in nuclear fusion?
The basic Hydrogen fusion cycle involves four Hydrogen nuclei (protons) and two electrons and yields a Helium nucleus, two neutrinos and six photons. This process occurs in three steps : the first one is the Fusion of Hydrogen into Deuterium.
What is the equation for nuclear fusion?
An important fusion reaction for practical energy generation is that between deuterium and tritium (the D-T fusion reaction). It produces helium (He) and a neutron (n) and is written D + T → He + n . To the left of the arrow (before the reaction) there are two protons and three neutrons.
What is the process of hydrogen 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. ... The sun and stars do this by gravity.
Why is nuclear fusion not used?
One of the biggest reasons why we haven’t been able to harness power from fusion is that its energy requirements are unbelievably , terribly high. In order for fusion to occur, you need a temperature of at least 100,000,000 degrees Celsius. That’s slightly more than 6 times the temperature of the Sun’s core.
