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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A plot of the binding energy per nucleon vs. atomic mass shows a peak atomic number 56 (Iron). Elements with atomic mass less then 56 release energy if formed as a result of a fusion reaction. Above this
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...moreThe 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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