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Nuclear fission is easy to start when you have enough fissionable material assembled. The smallest amount would be in the form of a sphere. U-235 and Pu-239 are the most common ways of getting a critical amount. "Critical" means the state when enough neutrons from fission are produced so that a chain reaction proceeds, Both the above materials have a small number of spontaneous fissions occurring all the time, just because of the inherent unstable nature of their nuclei, so all you have to do is get a critical assembly and the chain reaction will start very quickly. In a nuclear reactor the excess neutron production is carefully managed so that the neutron population will increase only slowly and can be adjusted by use of neutron absorbing control rods. In a nuclear weapon it is designed to happen very quickly to produce an explosion.
Nuclear fusion is a different matter altogether, and it has proved very difficult to make fusion work at all, even with the most favourable combination of deuterium and tritium. Obvously it happens in the universe in millions of stars, just with protons as the starting point, but this cannot be reproduced on earth as we are too small scale to produce the conditions at the star's centre.
Wiki User
∙ 14y ago
Both nuclear fission and nuclear fusion require extreme conditions to start the reactions, such as high temperatures and pressures. Nuclear fission involves splitting heavy atomic nuclei, while nuclear fusion involves combining light atomic nuclei. The technical challenges differ for each process, but both are complex and require precise control to sustain the reactions.
Wiki User
∙ 14y agoIt's more difficult to initiate and control, yes.
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Which type of nuclear reaction is used in modern-day nuclear reactors?
Nuclear fission is used in nuclear weapons to create what some might call an atomic blast (nuclear blast). Nuclear fission used this way can also be applied in special complex designs to generate enough thermal energy (heat) to initiate a fusion reaction. This creates an even bigger nuclear blast.
Is nuclear fission happening on the sun or nuclear fusion?
Fusion. Fusion requires very high temperature and pressure. So on earth we usea critical mass of weapons grade uranium to start a fission chain reaction whichenables a fusion reaction in hydrogen. Fusion is of course more powerful than fission
Nuclear energy is an alternate energy source produced from atomic reactions?
Nuclear energy is generated through nuclear reactions, specifically the splitting (fission) or merging (fusion) of atoms. This process can produce high amounts of energy, which can be harnessed to generate electricity. Despite the potential as a clean energy source, concerns about safety, waste disposal, and nuclear proliferation remain.
How do you compare fission and fussion?
With nuclear fission, a large atomic nucleus (such as a uranium nucleus) breaks apart into smaller nuclei, and energy is released. With nuclear fusion, small atomic nuclei (such as hydrogen) join to become larger nuclei, and energy is released. Fusion of hydrogen releases much more energy than any other type of either fusion or fission. Note that the dividing line between heavy nuclei and light nuclei is the iron nucleus, which is at the perfect point of nuclear stability, so that neither fusion nor fission of iron nuclei would release any energy.
What particle is used to start nuclear fission?
In actuality, a spontaneous fission event begins a nuclear chain reaction. It kick starts a nuclear chain reaction. And a neutron from that fission will initiate another fission to continue and rev up that nuclear chain reaction.
Maximam dengrus bomb between nuclear bomb or hydrogen bomb?
If you are asking which has the maximum danger, a hydrogen bomb is one type of nuclear bomb. In general, nuclear bombs can be fission (called atomic) or fusion (hydrogen) A fusion bomb is larger than an fission bomb, and actually uses a fission bomb to start the fusion reaction.
How is a star is made?
Collapsing matter and gasses get denser and denser until nuclear fusion and fission start.
Which type of nuclear reaction is used in modern-day nuclear reactors?
Nuclear fission is used in nuclear weapons to create what some might call an atomic blast (nuclear blast). Nuclear fission used this way can also be applied in special complex designs to generate enough thermal energy (heat) to initiate a fusion reaction. This creates an even bigger nuclear blast.
Is nuclear fission happening on the sun or nuclear fusion?
Fusion. Fusion requires very high temperature and pressure. So on earth we usea critical mass of weapons grade uranium to start a fission chain reaction whichenables a fusion reaction in hydrogen. Fusion is of course more powerful than fission
Why is it more difficult to start a fusion reaction than fission?
It is more difficult to start a fusion reaction than a fission reaction because fusion requires high temperatures and pressures to overcome the repulsive forces between positively charged nuclei involved, while fission can be initiated more easily by bombarding heavy nuclei with neutrons. Fusion reactions also typically require more energy input to overcome these initial barriers compared to fission reactions.
Nuclear energy is an alternate energy source produced from atomic reactions?
Nuclear energy is generated through nuclear reactions, specifically the splitting (fission) or merging (fusion) of atoms. This process can produce high amounts of energy, which can be harnessed to generate electricity. Despite the potential as a clean energy source, concerns about safety, waste disposal, and nuclear proliferation remain.
Why are fusion reactors not yet present day reality like fission reactors?
Only beacuse of starting trouble. Any way we need billion kelvin temperature to start with for which we have to rely on fission reaction. One more important point we cannot have a controlled fusion reaction as we do so in fission ie nuclear reactor using control rods.
What particle is used to start nuclear fission?
In actuality, a spontaneous fission event begins a nuclear chain reaction. It kick starts a nuclear chain reaction. And a neutron from that fission will initiate another fission to continue and rev up that nuclear chain reaction.
How do you compare fission and fussion?
With nuclear fission, a large atomic nucleus (such as a uranium nucleus) breaks apart into smaller nuclei, and energy is released. With nuclear fusion, small atomic nuclei (such as hydrogen) join to become larger nuclei, and energy is released. Fusion of hydrogen releases much more energy than any other type of either fusion or fission. Note that the dividing line between heavy nuclei and light nuclei is the iron nucleus, which is at the perfect point of nuclear stability, so that neither fusion nor fission of iron nuclei would release any energy.
Why it is more difficult to start a fusion reaction than that of fission reaction?
Fusion reactions require much higher temperatures and pressures to overcome the Coulomb barrier between atomic nuclei and achieve fusion. Additionally, controlling and sustaining the high temperature plasma for fusion is technically challenging and expensive compared to the relatively simpler process of inducing fission reactions with neutron bombardment.
What makes up a nuclear bomb?
A nuclear bomb typically consists of enriched uranium or plutonium, explosive materials to initiate the chain reaction, and a triggering mechanism. When the bomb is detonated, the fission or fusion of atomic nuclei releases a massive amount of energy in the form of a nuclear explosion.
What is Percentage of nuclear power plants that use nuclear fusion?
Currently, there are no nuclear power plants that use nuclear fusion for commercial energy production. Fusion has not yet been achieved at a sustained, commercial scale for power generation. Most nuclear power plants currently use nuclear fission.
