It is important to know how to differentiate Nuclear Fission and Fusion, fusion consists of the union of 2 atomic nuclei to create a much more powerful Nucleus, and through Nuclear Fission you can work with large and powerful nuclei. In the following article we will know everything related to this topic and much more.
Difference of Fission and Nuclear Fusion
We are going to know through this article everything related to the Fission and Nuclear Fusion of the atom. So we are going to detail each of these separately so that we can see what are the different ones they have. We will begin with What is Fusion?, Then we will go on to know What is Nuclear Fission?
Which is nuclear fusion?
Atoms are all those building blocks of all kinds of matter that have been identified on planet earth, in the same way within the entire universe. There is not an atom in space that is not on earth and vice versa.
Nuclear fusion is the process in which two atomic nuclei combine to create a much heavier nucleus. Fusion is the natural source of energy for the Sun and other stars.
The fusion of soft nuclei causes greater amounts of energy, which is the nuclear fusion point, which hypothetically can produce a much more powerful energy of up to 3 or 4 times more than the same Fission, which is the mass of the fuel.
A nuclear fusion reaction needs about 2 nuclei to combine and this is something that really costs a lot in terms of energy because the grains tend to repel each other because of the electrical charges they have, both positive. The energy required for fusion temperatures is vastly in the millions of degrees, as is the main core of stars. That is, the case of the Nebulae.
When some soft nuclei combine, the nucleus that is created that way ends up being some kind of unstable state and at the same time trying to find some kind of state that is stable at a lower amount of energy. To do this, in the midst of nuclear fusion, 1 or even more particles of:
- photons
- neutrons
- protons
- helium cores
All this according to the type of reaction it has. The generation of electricity through Nuclear Fission over the course of a long time, however, nuclear fusion continues to be controlled by the various researchers who have been experimenting since the year 1950. In the regions of France in the year 2018 in the Cadarache area, the ITER which means:
“International Experimental Thermonuclear Reactor”
He took charge of the largest nuclear machine that has ever existed.
What is Nuclear Fission?
With the help of Nuclear Fission, great scientists are working with the heaviest nuclei. Fission products consist of the remains of a heavy plutonium or uranium nucleus that became fragmented after the capture of a neutron atom. The plutonium or uranium nucleus is usually fragmented into about 2 pieces of different sizes, in addition to having a light base with about 80 or 0 nucleons and also a more charged nucleus with about 110 to 130 nucleons.
The distribution of the nuclear fission products will depend very little on the fission of Uranium-235 or Plutonium-239. The 2 fragments become highly radioactive and unstable from the moment of their creation. Now then, 1 nucleus of Uranium -235 that houses about 143 neutrons and protons, in addition to 92 or 61% of the neutrons, while for the stable fragments, light and heavy, it has to support an amount less than 57% of these.
Stability will come at the cost of a beta decay cascade, which transforms into protons and neutrons. Nuclear fission consists of the splitting of one nucleus into two much lighter nuclei. This is accompanied by a heat wave, meaning it is a burst of energy.
Fission tends to release enormous energy, like a kind of radiation, unlike 1 gram of Uranium-235, a large amount of energy is released in such a way that it is almost the same as burning tons of coal, and it reaches to be about 69 thousand times more energetic than 1 gr of oil. The neutrons that are released due to fission are of high energy and if they are not stopped, they can induce new fissions and also the accelerated reaction.
Where Are We in Nuclear Energy?
As of 2009, there are about 59 reactors in the French regions, which are second-generation water reactors known as “PWRs” in about 19 locations. The estimated age of nuclear power in the regions of France for the year 2009 is 22 years. Around the world there are about 439 nuclear reactors. The production of nuclear energy in the region of France for the year 2007 reached more than 419 TWh, which is equal to “Tera = 1012”.
The Fourth Generation?
Energy will always be obtained through nuclear fission. Fourth-generation reactors will be much more powerful because they use accelerated neutrons to split atoms, making the process much faster, as is the case with plutonium and uranium, which would burn much more efficiently. Superconductors are crucial to these processes.
The energy that is produced is going to be about 50 times more powerful and enormous. Industrialization is planned for the year 2040. A prototype of this model is going to be built in the region of France for this year 2020. It will not be until the year 2040 that the energy that has been produced or will be produced by the kind of fusion of light nuclei as occurs in the case of nuclear reactions produced in the center of the central star of our system solar, that is, the Sun.
