Nuclear Fusion Reactors

Advantages of Fusion

• They use abundant sources of fuel (not limited to a single type)

• Don’t leak radiation above normal background levels

• Produce less waste than fission reactors.

• Although this technology isn’t in working practice yet the reactors aren’t very far away.

• The consortium from U.S, Russia, Europe, and Japan are even planning on building one in Cadarache, France.

Fission and Fusion

• Fission is currently the only type of reactions used to create power.

• This occurs by splitting one atom in to two atoms.

• This creates large amounts of energy however radioactive waste is created as well.

• Fusion is the process of creating energy by combining two atoms in to a single atom.

• This same type of energy formation is found in Hydrogen bombs and the sun.

Types of Fusion Reactions

• There are several types of Fusion reactions, each of which creates compiles with the one beneath it to create more energy in a ‘Proton-proton’ chain.

• 1) Two pairs of protons form to make two deuterium atoms.

• 2) Each deuterium atom combines with a proton to from helium-3 atom.

• 3) Two helium-3 atoms combine to form beryllium-6.

• 4) Beryllium-6 decays in to 2 helium-4 atoms.