The fusion tag is used for questions about nuclear fusion, both the basic process at a physical level and it's use as a potential energy source.
Questions tagged [fusion]
673 questions
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Where does the energy produced by fusion come from?
Fission, in layman's (or "initiate's") terms, is easy enough to understand; a large atom with a lot of protons and neutrons requires a large amount of force provided by the strong interaction to overcome electromagnetism and keep the nucleus…
KeithS
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1 answer
Is an H bomb a better "fusion reactor" than the Sun's core?
A few days ago I asked about a fusion reactor design I was thinking about and got a well-founded answer by #BowlOfRed#.
There is the question I posted:
Another cold-fusion reactor scheme :) Is it feasible?
He explained why it wouldn't work and he…
Ivan Ivanov
- 393
11
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3 answers
Concentrating Sunlight to initiate fusion reaction
The idea is to collect sunlight over a large area, and concentrate it down to the nano scale.
For the sake of discussion lets say you concentrate all the light you collect down to 1000 nanometers (1µm).
Questions is... how much surface area sunlight…
user26473
- 111
4
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3 answers
Hydrogen-boron fusion
Recently I found out that Hydrogen-1 and Boron-11 together are considered a viable nuclear fuel. Fusion of Hydrogen-1 and Boron-11 produces three highly energetic Helium-4 nuclei. Basically the entire amount of energy produced by the reaction is in…
Ivan Ivanov
- 393
3
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1 answer
How much of ITER Tokamak's input power could be eliminated in a future commercial fusion reactor?
The ITER Tokamak is designed to produce 500 MW of thermal output from 330 MW of input power, ignoring electric conversion efficiency.
The heaters require 150 MW (to heat input plasma by 50 MW), the magnets require 80 MW, and the other subsystems…
alexchandel
- 920
3
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2 answers
Why this arrangement of thingys in this light-induced fusion reactor?
Here is a photo from inside a light-induced fusion reactor at the National Ignition Facility, California.
Image source: Wikipedia
I'm not sure what those thingys all around it are but I assume they emit light.
Why are they in this particular…
spraff
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Can fusion and fission happen at the same time, in the same place?
Can fusion and fission happen at the same time, in the same place? I was talking with a friend, and he thinks that fission and fusion happen at the same time at the sun, is that true? I guess this would cause perpetual motion, then I speculated that…
Red Banana
- 503
3
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1 answer
What is the shortest duration fusion reaction?
In a tokamak fusion reactor fusing hydrogen nuclei what is the shortest duration experiment that successfully fused nuclei.
Is there a database with fusion reactions and their duration.
PhysicsTinyHuge
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2
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1 answer
Do Hydrinos Exist?
Possible Duplicate:
Have the Rowan University “hydrino” findings been replicated elsewhere?
I came across this controversial company: Black Light Power
I want to know if there is any validity of the scientific claims made by this company and its…
Dale
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2
votes
1 answer
What can be learned from Wendelstein 7-x experiment?
This experiment achieved a stable plasma for 26 seconds.
What do we learn from it in general(why it was done)? and specifically about the possibility of achieving positive energy flow ($Q>1 $) by fusion?
user2679290
- 123
2
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1 answer
Why does resistance decrease as the temperature increase in plasma?
I am writing about Ohmic heating as a heating method for fusion for a class in school. But I wonder why the resistance decreases as the temperature increases in the plasma? This seems odd because doesn't supercooled conducters have lower resistance…
FlammableGopnik
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2
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So how much fuel does a hypothetical fusion plant need?
Reading about potential fusion plants it's easy to get the impression that we have nearly infinite access to the fuels required. But looking aside form how much we have available, I am interested in something I have a hard time finding information…
Llama_guy
- 369
2
votes
1 answer
How to initiate fusion explosion without a fission trigger
I'd like to know what theoretical methods for initiating a fusion detonation without a fission trigger exist, and which would be the most practical in the near future. I'd also like to know how small A fusion bomb might be practical under those…
Todd Burkett
- 379
2
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2 answers
Help identifying a Fusion approach
Several years ago, I saw a Google video (back before the YouTube acquisition) where the leader of a group studying an unusual approach to fusion gave a presentation. His approach centered on a relatively small apparatus where instead of attempting…
Green
- 155
2
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1 answer
Are fusors a cost-effective source of helium?
It's not hard to imagine geology that didn't give us convenient concentrations of terrestrial helium, or that someday soon we'll have exhausted those natural sources.
How cost-effective is existing fusor technology at producing helium? I'm just…
feetwet
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