How Is Energy Released By Nuclear Fusion In The Sun

This is the same process that powers the sun and creates huge amounts of energy several times greater than fission.

How is energy released by nuclear fusion in the sun.

Inside the sun this process begins with protons which is simply a lone hydrogen nucleus and through a series of steps these protons fuse together and are. Nuclear fusion process by which nuclear reactions between light elements form heavier elements up to iron. The vast energy potential of nuclear fusion was first exploited in thermonuclear. Thus energy is not released with the fusion of such nuclei.

Fusion occurs when two atoms slam together to form a heavier atom like when two hydrogen atoms fuse to form one helium atom. The energy from the sun both heat and light energy originates from a nuclear fusion process that is occurring inside the core of the sun the specific type of fusion that occurs inside of the sun is known as proton proton fusion. Sun the ultimate nuclear fusion reactor. Complete fusion of all these hydrogen nuclei would release about 17 200 000 000 000 joules j of energy.

Instead energy is required as input for such processes. Energy released as gamma rays will interact with electrons and protons and heat the interior of the sun. In cases where the interacting nuclei belong to elements with low atomic numbers e g hydrogen atomic number 1 or its isotopes deuterium and tritium substantial amounts of energy are released. Fusion powers stars and produces virtually all elements in a process called nucleosynthesis.

Of the two protons and the 4 2 he from the p p i reaction increases the temperature of plasma in the sun. Deuterium proton fusion into helium 3 accounts for 40 of the reactions by number releasing 5 49 mev of energy for each reaction. The sun is a main sequence star and as such generates its energy by nuclear fusion of hydrogen nuclei into helium. Every second the sun fuses 620 billion kg of hydrogen nuclei protons into helium to produce 384 6 trillion trillion joules of energy per second this is equivalent to the energy released in the explosion of 91 92 billion megatons of tnt per second.

Also kinetic energy of fusion products e g. It has been observed that under special conditions it is possible for the nuclei of light elements to combine and form a nucleus of a high atomic number. The total energy yield of one whole chain is 26 73 mev. 39 5 of the sun s total energy.