Nuclear Fusion
What is it?
Nuclear fusion is when two atoms overcome strong nuclear forces and form a new heavier atom. The most common reaction is the fusing of the Hydrogen 2 and 3 ions which form Helium. At the same time a neutron is lost along with a massive amount of energy(14.1MeV)
Types of Fusion
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Hot Fusion
A fusion reaction that requires high temperature and pressure to a start is considered hot fusion. The most well known from of hot fusion is the Hydrogen bomb.
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Cold Fusion
A fusion reaction that can take place at low temperatures such as room temperature have been theorized by scientists for many years. Today there is still no economical method of cold fusion. One way that has the potential to be viable is a muon collision. A muon is a large electron that requires a vast amount of energy to create, way more than is produced by a cold fusion reaction. If in the future though we are able to harvest the thousands of muons that strike are planet every second we could collide them with hydrogen atoms and produce cold fusion.
