Nuclear Fusion is a reaction in which two or more small atomic nuclei fuse to form larger and heavier nuclei with the release of particles and large amounts of energy. In nuclear fusion reactions the two reactive nuclei collide, as both are positively charged, there is an intense repulsive force between them, which will only be overcome if the reactive nuclei have very high kinetic energies (close to 100 million degrees Celsius). As the kinetic energy required increases with the nuclear charge (atomic nucleus), the reactions between nuclei of low atomic number are the easiest to produce.
The energy produced in the Sun, as well as in other stars, comes from the fusion of hydrogen nuclei that form helium nuclei and gamma radiation, which are the expression of the energy that is released in this process. The number of nuclei that react every second is enormous and, therefore, also the energy released, hence the irrepressible brightness and energy with which it has always sheltered us. Nuclear fusion is the mechanism that also explains the origin of all the different elements in the universe, it is assumed that immediately after the explosion (Big Bang), hydrogen was formed, and when small nuclei were joined, heavy nuclei were formed. that have given rise to the great diversity of materials that we now know.
The extreme conditions of pressure and very high temperature for the production of nuclear fusion reactions (thermonuclear reactions) to take place, have been the obstacle that laboratories around the world have faced. At high temperatures, all or most of the atoms would be stripped of their electrons. This state of matter is a gaseous mixture of positive ions and electrons known as plasma. Containing this plasma is a formidable task.
Until now, nuclear fusion has only found an application in military functions: the hydrogen bomb or the thermonuclear bomb; it uses hydrogen atoms or their heavy isotopes, deuterium and tritium. For the fusion of these atoms to take place, it is necessary to reach a temperature of such magnitude that it can only be achieved using a small uranium or plutonium fission bomb as a detonator.
It should be noted that the fusion of hydrogen nuclei produces about 4 times more energy than the fission of uranium. Hence, when nuclear fusion energy is controlled (some say in the middle of this century), the nuclear reactors that use it will forget the current ones that are based on nuclear fission processes. If fusion energy becomes practicable, it would offer the following advantages: 1) fuel is cheap and almost inexhaustible, deuterium from the oceans; 2) impossibility of an accident in the reactor, if a fusion machine stopped working, it would shut down completely and immediately, without danger of melting, and 3) It is a clean source of energy, as the process generates little radioactive waste and is easier to handle.
