Nuclear Fusion Essay Samples

Nuclear fusion is the process where two or more atoms which have the same charge come together so that they form a heavier nucleus. In this process, there is likelihood of energy being released or absorbed. It will depend on the mass. The fusion usually take place on lighter elements, like hydrogen and the isotopes. The process takes place when the elements are forced to come together in high temperatures and densities until a time when they fuse together. They form elements with heavier nuclei (Garofalo et al., 2014). In the process, there is release of enormous amounts of energy. If there is a need to yield net energy, there is a requirement where fuel must be subjected to heavy heat in the form of plasma. Plasma is subjected to very high temperatures and held together for a long time such that the number of fusion occurrences will give more energy than it was needed to heat the fuel (Rieth et al., 2013).
Some of the advantages of nuclear fusion is that the energy that comes from this process is readily available. Deuterium and Tritium are readily available in space and is hard to exhaust. Another advantage is that it presents a clean source of energy when compared to coal burning and fossil fuels. It does not emit harmful substances to the environment (Roedler, & Schuller, 2015).
One disadvantage is that it has not been possible to contain a fusion reaction so that there is gainful energy that can be used. Another disadvantage is that many countries are doing away with energy fusion because of the failure to reach a breakthrough.
There re controversial issues that are associated with nuclear fusion. One of the issues is that the energy source cannot be relied on to get substantial amount of energy. The challenge is in the lack of support from countries because of the lack of tangible benefits (Wu et al., 2011).

References

Garofalo, A. M., Chan, V. S., Canik, J. M., Sawan, M. E., Choi, M., Humphreys, D. A., & Wong, C. P. C. (2014). Progress in the physics basis of a Fusion Nuclear Science Facility based on the Advanced Tokamak concept. Nuclear Fusion, 54(7), 073015.
Rieth, M., Dudarev, S. L., De Vicente, S. G., Aktaa, J., Ahlgren, T., Antusch, S., & Palacios, T. (2013). Recent progress in research on tungsten materials for nuclear fusion applications in Europe. Journal of Nuclear Materials, 432(1), 482-500.
Roedler, M. B., & Schuller, F. C. (2015). Cor Bobeldijk (1936–2014), Emeritus Scientific Editor of Nuclear Fusion. Nuclear Fusion, 55(1), 010401.
Wu, Y., Jiang, J., Wang, M. H., Jin, M., & FDS Team. (2011). A fusion-driven subcritical system concept based on viable technologies. Nuclear Fusion, 51(10), 103036.