In this day and age where energy is one of the greatest factors in world events, it is unsurprising to see nuclear energy, the bridge between fossil fuels and renewable resources, argued for and against so fiercely. Yet under this umbrella term of “nuclear energy” that people enjoy throwing around, there are two wildly different forms of energy. Things that perhaps shouldn’t be lumped together so haphazardly. Those are Nuclear Fission and Nuclear Fusion.
In contrast to their similar names, fission and fusion aren’t quite so similar. They differ in many things. Amongst those they differ in are the mechanics, their fuels, and how safe they are.
First up is mechanics, the very way they work. Fission and Fusion are similar only really on the surface. That is, they both deal with atoms. That really is where the similarities end, however. Fission is concerned with the deconstruction of atoms, while Fusion involves the reconstruction of them.
By using the neutrally-charged molecules called Neutrons, we blast apart an atom, splitting it into two halves and sending its own neutrons everywhere. This violent splitting creates a lot of heat, which we use to create steam, and therefore, energy. This is perhaps the easiest nuclear reaction we can create, as we use neutrons, which
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In order to cause a fusion reaction, we must force together two atoms with enough energy, that the fuse and become one. This is much harder than it sounds, and that is due to the pesky force known as electromagnetism. Electromagnetism prevents atoms of a similar charge from getting near to each other, which is necessary for fusion. In order to get around electromagnetism, you need both pressure and heat. And lots of it. Somewhere in the order [insert] and [insert]. Once the atoms are forced close enough together, another force, the Strong Nuclear Force, takes over, and snaps the two atoms together. The point at which this occurs is called the Coulomb Barrier.