Page 3: Nuclear Fusion Process

This page examines nuclear fusion, describing how lighter nuclei combine to form heavier elements while releasing enormous amounts of energy. The process requires extreme conditions of temperature and pressure.

Vocabulary: Nuclear fusion is the process where two light atomic nuclei combine to form a heavier nucleus.

Highlight: Fusion releases more energy than fission but hasn't been successfully harnessed for commercial energy production due to technical challenges.

Example: The fusion of deuterium (²H) atoms demonstrates how lighter elements combine to release energy.

Definition: The mass difference between initial and final products in fusion is converted to energy, following Einstein's E=mc² equation.

Page 2: Nuclear Fission Explained

This page delves into the intricacies of nuclear fission, explaining the process and its practical applications. The process begins with uranium or plutonium atoms being split into smaller nuclei, releasing significant energy in the process.

Vocabulary: Nuclear fission is the splitting of large, unstable atomic nuclei into smaller, more stable nuclei.

Example: The fission of Uranium-235 produces elements like Krypton and Barium, along with additional neutrons.

Highlight: The chain reaction in nuclear fission is carefully controlled using control rods, which absorb excess neutrons to maintain safe operation.

Definition: Control rods are specialized components in nuclear reactors that regulate the rate of fission by absorbing neutrons.