NSCI 1322 Lecture Notes - Lecture 11: National Spherical Torus Experiment, Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, Nuclear Force
12 Jan 2017
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Document Summary
Energy can be obtained by combining light nuclei into a heavier nucleus by nuclear fusion. Such fusion reactions have been observed in the laboratory by means of bombardment using particle accelerators. To get the nuclei to react, the bombarding nucleus must have enough kinetic energy to overcome the repulsion of electric charges of the nuclei. The first reaction uses only deuterium, which is present in ordinary water. It is therefore very attractive as a source of energy. Energy cannot be obtained in a practical way using particle accelerators. Another way to give nuclei sufficient kinetic energy to react is by heating the nuclear materials to a sufficiently high temperature. A plasma is an electrically neutral gas of ions and electrons. Thus, the development of nuclear fusion requires study of the properties of plasmas at high temperatures. It is now believed that the energy of stars, including our sun, where extremely high temperatures exist, derives from nuclear fusion.
