The Fusion Dream
Fusion power has been the dream of scientist all over the world since the forties. The potential for fusion power was first discovered during the development of atomic power in the "Manhattan Project". In 1951, top secret fusion research began under the code name "Project Sherwood"(U.S. Congress 40). "Project Sherwood" was the U.S.'s first step toward fusion power. The creation of a fusion reactor would mark the beginning of a new era for mankind. "The new space age, and the new everything age, is linked more and more to the new energy revolution"(Guterl 1). Fusion means joining smaller nuclei to make a lager nucleus. This releases a tremendous amount of energy. The sun uses the nuclear fusion of two hydrogen atoms into one helium atom. Picture courtesy of www.discovery.com This gives off heat, light, and small amounts of radiation. Two types of hydrogen atoms, deuterium (one neutron and one proton) and tritium (two neutrons and one proton), fuse together to make a helium atom and an extra neuron. Scientist have been working on controlling nuclear fusion since the fifties, trying to make a fusion reactor to produce electricity. Unfortunately they have been having trouble learning how to control the reac
There are two types of fusion power: hot and cold. Hot fusion is the process of using energy to fuse the two hydrogen atoms together. Since deuterium and tritium naturally repel each other, to get them to stay close enough and long enough for them to fuse the nuclei must be heated to approximately 100 million degrees Celsius (U.S. Congress). At this temperature matter is converted into plasma, super hot and unstable matter. Since no solid container can withstand the heat of plasma, magnetic fields are used. This makes hot fusion research difficult. The equipment needed to make hot fusion work is very complex and very expensive. Researchers have theorized of another simpler, cheaper, and more efficient method to create fusion, cold fusion. Cold fusion works basically the same as hot fusion, only at room temperature. A solution of deuterium and tritium is held in a small jar. Supposedly, if an electric current is sent through the solution a fusion reaction can occur. Numerous tests around the world have had promising results with cold fusion experiments. But sadly, the American public has a bad taste in their mouth for cold fusion from a nine-year-old event. Most major technological revolutions in the history of man had coincided with the discovery new power sources. The survival of mankind depended on the caveman's discovery
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Approximate Word count = 898
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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