Nuclear
Fusion is the opposite of
fission. With a nuclear fission reaction unstable
atoms are broken down into smaller, more stable atoms, which gives off a large amount of energy. This is the reaction that occurs in
nuclear power stations,
atom bombs, and
nuclear submarines. Fusion on the other hand involves smashing atoms together (usually stable ones like
helium,
deuterium or
tritium) so that they become one big stable atom. This gives off an absolute
shitload (scientific term) of energy. This is the type of reaction that occurs in the centre of the sun and in
hydrogen bombs. And maybe, just maybe, in
power stations around the world or even in your own home.
The problem with fusion is it needs immense amounts of heat, which is why it only occurs at the centre of
stars and such. Efforts to re-create it on earth are thwarted by the fact that there are no materials able to withstand the intense heat that's required. This makes the prospect of
cold fusion extremely enticing. Cold fusion though, is still in the realms of science fiction. To create fusion on earth without clearing a large amount of the world's surface using a bomb or a missile, experiments are being conducted whereby a very small amount of
hydrogen rich matter is heated by
lasers and held in place by an
electromagnetic field. I believe that this did manage to create fusion, but it was extremely hard to sustain. It is unlikely that it will be the new method of power in the near future.
It's the year 2002. No-one's living in space and there aren't any affordable mass-produced
hovercars, but there are new claims of creating fusion. Researchers at the
Oak Ridge national laboratory in
Tennessee in the
United States claim that they have found a way of creating fusion in a controlled manageable way. The method used was that by passing
sound waves through a jar of
Acetone (
nail polish remover) containing molecules of deuterium, bubbles in the substance expanded and then imploded - giving temperatures of 10
mC inside the bubble and 7,000C on the surface for a split second before the colapse. These temperatures are equal to the ones at the centre and the surface of the sun. The jar is bombarded by
neutrons in the form of a sound wave - a
technique that is called
acoustic cavitation. This experiment, which was headed by Dr.
Rusi Taleyarkhan has already come under fire - from his own laboratory! A second group working at Oak Ridge was unable to recreate the temperatures claimed by the first group, who in turn say the second group had incorrectly
calibrated their instruments. It has not been determined yet if this experiment is a definite success or not.
Other nodes on
E2 dealing with fusion:
Cold fusion
Fusion fuels
Fusion reactions
Fusion Reactor
Laser fusion
Muon-catalysed cold fusion
Nuclear fusion