Can we make a fusion reactor?

Yes, you can build your very own nuclear fusion reactor in your house! But first, a few warnings: -This project includes lethal voltage levels. Make sure you know your high voltage safety or have a qualified electrical advisor.

Why can’t fusion occur on Earth?

A: Nuclear fusion doesn’t occur naturally on Earth because it requires temperatures far higher than Earth temperatures.

How does hydrogen fuse into helium?

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.

What is one problem with studying nuclear fusion in the laboratory?

Nuclear fusion reactions in the laboratory have been extraordinarily difficult to achieve. Extremely high temperatures (in the millions of degrees) are required. Methods must be developed to force the atoms together and hold them together long enough to react.

What does the Sun fuse?

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.

What is the purpose of a fusion reactor?

Fusion reactor, also called fusion power plantor thermonuclear reactor, a device to produce electrical power from the energy released in a nuclear fusionreaction. The use of nuclear fusion reactions for electricity generation remains theoretical.

Can nuclear fusion be used to generate electricity?

Fusion reactor, a device to produce electrical power from the energy released in a nuclear fusion reaction. The use of nuclear fusion reactions for electricity generation remains theoretical but could provide a safe, clean, and inexhaustible source of energy if developed.

What are the disadvantages of a fusion reactor?

First, a fusion reactor would not release the pollutants that accompany the combustion of fossil fuels —in particular, the gases that contribute to global warming. Second, because the fusion reaction is not a chain reaction, a fusion reactor cannot undergo a runaway chain reaction, or “meltdown,” as can happen in a fission reactor.

What is the difference between fission and fusion power?

Today: fusion power. Fusion energy, simply, is the exact opposite of fission energy, which comes from splitting an atom and is widely used to power nuclear plants and weapons. Fusion occurs constantly on our sun, which produces most of its energy via the nuclear fusion of hydrogen into helium.