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Nuclear fusion is the process that powers active or main-sequence stars and other high-magnitude stars, where large amounts of energy are released. A nuclear fusion process that produces atomic nuclei lighter than iron-56 or nickel-62 will generally release energy.
Fusion power is a proposed form of power generation that would generate electricity by using heat from nuclear fusion reactions. In a fusion process, two lighter atomic nuclei combine to form a heavier nucleus, while releasing energy. Devices designed to harness this energy are known as fusion reactors.
Why fusion energy is so hard to produce. But if the science is there, so is the hype. ... which require heat to produce. Fusion companies can deliver that heat more cleanly, further reducing the ...
As a result, there is little mixing of fresh hydrogen into the core or fusion products outward. In higher-mass stars, the dominant energy production process is the CNO cycle, which is a catalytic cycle that uses nuclei of carbon, nitrogen and oxygen as intermediaries and in the end produces a helium nucleus as with the proton–proton chain. [22]
Neutrinos do not interact significantly with matter and therefore do not heat the interior and thereby help support the Sun against gravitational collapse. Their energy is lost: the neutrinos in the p–p I , p–p II , and p–p III chains carry away 2.0%, 4.0%, and 28.3% of the energy in those reactions, respectively.
To maintain fusion and produce net energy output, the bulk of the fuel must be raised to high temperatures so its atoms are constantly colliding at high speed; this gives rise to the name thermonuclear due to the high temperatures needed to bring it about.
The beams compress and heat the target to achieve the necessary conditions for nuclear fusion to occur. ... And while much has been made of the fact that fusion doesn’t produce long-lasting ...
Fusion produces less energy per unit mass as the fuel nuclei get heavier, and the core of the star contracts and heats up when switching from one fuel to the next, so both these processes also significantly reduce the lifetime of each successive fusion-burning fuel. Up to the helium burning stage the neutrino losses are negligible.