Interior of the Joint European Torus (JET) tokamak,
the largest magnetic confinement fusion device in the world.
Click on image for full size
Image courtesy of JET
Fusion Experiments
Nuclear fusion has been achieved in a controlled manner (that means no bombs are involved!!).
Right now, these fusion experiments take in more energy than they produce. So they can't be used right now to produce energy.
People started experimenting with fusion in the 1960's. It's come a long way since then! Hopefully nuclear fusion can be used as an energy source in the future (instead of oil or coal). Nuclear fusion will be safe for the environment because it won't pollute our air or make more waste to put in our landfills.
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Nuclear fusion has been achieved in a controlled manner (that means no bombs are involved!!). Right now, these fusion experiments take in more energy than they produce. So they can't be used right now
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In the Hydrogen bomb, an explosion takes place so that the temperature and density is right for fusion to occur. This fusion results in a sudden release of energy that produces an even bigger explosion.
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When the temperature in the core of a star is really hot (100 million degrees Kelvin!) fusion of Helium into Carbon happens. Oxygen is also formed when the temperature is this high. When it gets even hotter
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All of the matter and energy in the Universe was initially found in a very small space. An explosion happened which caused the Universe to begin expanding.
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The neutrino is an extremely light particle. (You definitely couldn't weigh one on your bathroom scale!) It also has no electric charge. Fusion reactions in the Sun produce neutrinos. By detecting these
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By knowing about fusion inside the Sun, scientists can predict the number of neutrinos that should reach Earth. Experiments on Earth have been set up to detect neutrinos in order to test these predictions.
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