Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
The economic effects of the oil crisis
Impact of oil on the economy
Fusion as a future energy source
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: The economic effects of the oil crisis
Deuterium-Tritium Fusion
Abstract
The energy crisis is upon us. Fossil fuels are expected to be totally depleted within the next ten to fifty years. We need an energy source that can consistently output lots of energy and be easily operated. Deuterium-Tritium fusion appears to be the best and most effective way to produce energy. By fusing the two isotopes of Hydrogen in to the heavier element Helium large quantities of energy are released. D-T fusion is the safest form of fusion, producing no waste and no harmful radioactive atoms. As long as there is available Deuterium and Tritium, we have an effective way to solve the energy crisis.
Introduction
The sun generates its energy by fusing hydrogen atoms, which give off large amounts of energy. However, scientists believe that the sun long ago fused Deuterium, an isotope of hydrogen, because it was a more easily achieved fusion.( Conventional Fusion FAQ, May 2007) Deuterium-Tritium fusion is soon to be one of the most effective and efficient ways to produce energy. A normal hydrogen atom has only one proton in its nucleus, but deuterium is a hydrogen atom with one neutron and one proton, a tritium atom consists of two neutrons and one proton. Deuterium is also known as "heavy water" because it forms D-O-D. (Wikipedia, 2007) Figure 1 Three isotopes of Hydrogen
Deuterium-Tritium Fusion 3
Heavy water has already been incorporated into modern nuclear reactors. Some Canadian reactors, such as CANDU, are using deuterium to moderate the heat of the reactors: however, the fusion of deuterium and tritium is still being researched. There have been few experiments on the fusion of Deuterium and Tritium. In 1952 Mike Ivy shot the first hydrogen bomb made with deuterium liquid. Th...
... middle of paper ...
.../hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/nucene/fusion.html
Uranium Energy Corp, (2006). Uranium. Retrieved July 30, 2007, Web site: http://www.uraniumenergy.com/uranium/
Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, (July 26 2007). Deuterium. Retrieved July 30, 2007, Web site: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deuterium
Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, (July 26 2007). Tritium. Retrieved July 30, 2007, Web site: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tritium Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, (July 26 2007).
Nuclear Fusion. Retrieved July 30, 2007, Web site: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_fusion
Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, (July 26 2007). Ocean. Retrieved July 30, 2007, Web site: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ocean Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, (July 26 2007). Timeline of Nuclear Fusion. Retrieved July 30, 2007, Web site: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Timeline_of_nuclear_fusion
Milbert, Neil. "World Book Online Reference Center | Online Reference Book| Online Encyclopedia." World Book. /student/article?id=ar754108&flag=success, 2014. Web. 14 May 2014.
Wikipedia. The World of the. Wikimedia Foundation, 22 Nov. 2013. Web. The Web.
All these effects were the cause of the discovery of nuclear fission and its properties. Nuclear Fusion Nuclear fusion is the process used by the sun and the stars in our solar system to produce their energy. Fusion involves smashing hydrogen atoms together at high velocities to form helium, and the matter is made into energy.
Wikipedia the Free Encyclopedia. (April 26, 2014). Louis Riel. Retrieved on June 4, 2014 from
In 1934 the American scientist Harold Clayton Urey won the Nobel Prize for chemistry for his discovery of the heavy form of hydrogen known as deuterium.
158. - 171. - 171. Almanac and Primary Sources. Gale Virtual Reference Library -. Web. The Web.
The World of the. Wikimedia Foundation, 23 Nov. 2013. Web. The Web.
Wikipedia. The World of the. Wikimedia Foundation, 29 Jan. 2014. Web. The Web.
Although theoretically helium-3 could be obtained and processed efficiently to produce clean or even nuclear waste-free energy, it is not a readily available technology today. However, the future of Helium-3 is promising and so continued investigation is well warranted.
Cost and availability of fuel is a considerable factor when dealing with nuclear power. Fission requires an element that can be easily split in a particle accelerator, such as uranium or plutonium. Fusion, on the other hand, uses isotopes of hydrogen atoms, specifically deuterium and tritium, that can be obtained from ordinary water. Uranium ores occur naturally in many parts of the world but must go through a costly purification process before used as fuel. The unprocessed ore contains approximately 99.3% uranium-238, a non-fissionable isotope of uranium, and only about 0.7% of U-235 required for fission. One hydrogen atom out of 6700 appears as deuterium, a naturally occurring isotope of hydrogen with an extra neutron, and can easily be separated from the rest. Uranium-235 is a non-renewable resource that will eventually run out, much like the fossil fuels. The abundance of deuterium and lithium provide a virtually unlimited supply of fuel for nuclear fusion. Therefore, nuclear fusion seems to be the better choice.
DeNardi, Candice. "Fact Sheet: The Basics of Nuclear Weapons." The Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation. (2013): 69-97 Business Source Premier. Web. 20 Apr 2014.
One of the biggest and most prevalent problems is the need for clean, renewable, sustainable energy. On the forefront of these problems comes the following solutions: nuclear energy, hydro-electric energy, and photovoltaic energy. With the need for energy in today’s current world, exploring different ways of producing power is necessary. The differences and similarities between nuclear energy and alternative energy are important to look over and examine in depth, so that it is plain to see the positive and negative effects of energy production. To begin, nuclear power is produced by nuclear fission, which is the splitting of an atom to start a chain reaction (“11 Facts”).
Nuclear fusion occurs when two atomic nuclei collide with enough energy to bind together to form one nucleus. Nuclear fusion occurs in the core of our sun, and is the source of its tremendous heat. In the sun hydrogen nuclei, single protons, fuse together and form a new nucleus. In the conversion, a small amount of mass is converted into energy. It is this energy that heats the sun.
...ion of fusion power plant when the technology has achieved a certain level. This level will be reach with free market and patents right, which will create incentive for scientist to make innovation. Hopefully, countries, in the future, will find co-operating relationship’ among each other and solve environmental problems.
Nuclear energy is generated by a process called fission. Fission occurs within the reactor of a nuclear power plant when a neutron is fired at an atom of uranium causing it to split and release subsequent neutrons.1 These are able to crash into other uranium atoms causing a chain reaction and releasing a great deal of heat energy.