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If new binding energy is available when light nuclei fuse (nuclear fusion), or when heavy nuclei split (nuclear fission), either process can result in release of this binding energy. This energy may be made available as nuclear energy and can be used to produce electricity, as in nuclear power , or in a nuclear weapon .
This difference in mass arises as a result of the difference in nuclear binding energy between the atomic nuclei before and after the fusion reaction. Nuclear fusion is the process that powers active or main-sequence stars and other high-magnitude stars, where large amounts of energy are released .
A graph of the nuclear binding energy per nucleon for all the elements shows a sharp increase to a peak near nickel and then a slow decrease to heavier elements. Increasing values of binding energy represent energy released when a collection of nuclei is rearranged into another collection for which the sum of nuclear binding energies is higher ...
“Fusion could generate four times more energy per kilogram of fuel than fission (used in nuclear power plants) and nearly four million times more energy than burning oil or coal,” the IAEA ...
Fusion energy is (almost) forever energy. Nuclear fusion is the reverse of nuclear fission, which powers the nuclear plants we’re all familiar with. Fission splits atoms of very heavy, unstable ...
Put another way, a pickup truck filled with nuclear fusion fuel has the equivalent energy of 2 million metric tons of coal or 10 million barrels of oil. And it produces that energy without the ...
The energy given off during either nuclear fusion or nuclear fission is the difference of the binding energies of the "fuel", i.e. the initial nuclide(s), from that of the fission or fusion products.
As can be seen, light nuclides such as deuterium or helium release large amounts of energy (a big increase in binding energy) when combined to form heavier elements—the process of fusion. Conversely, heavy elements such as uranium release energy when broken into lighter elements—the process of nuclear fission. In stars, rapid ...