The Sun, An Engine of Nuclear Energy: the solution to fossil fuels

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Using the great resource Dr. Smirnova introduced me to, Newsela, I was able to read more about an article she suggested called "The Sun, an Engine of Nuclear Energy." This article was an extremely eye-opening look into stars and nuclear fusion; a personal wonder in which I have always thought about.  The article explains the process of nuclear fusion. Nuclear fusion is the combination of lighter atoms to make heavier ones. This is what occurs at the heart of stars! There are two key conditions that must be present in order for nuclear fusion to occur: extreme heat and density. The article continues to explain the exact science behind nuclear fusion, however, the author compares the amount of energy that occurs during nuclear fusion in stars to the amount of energy needed to generate power for New York City.  The article states: 

"How much energy does nuclear fusion produce? Nuclear fusion can produce so much energy that it is hard for us to even imagine. Here's an example: suppose you have a gallon of water and you take out all of its hydrogen and then fuse the hydrogen atoms together until you turned it all into helium."

"Along the way, you would have created enough energy to power New York City for three days."

"Now imagine if you had an entire star's worth of hydrogen."

 Wow. After reading that, the only thing I could think about was how can we harness this energy that occurs during nuclear fusion in a way that could provide us with sustainable energy and why haven't I heard about this as a potential energy source.  Now I know many sustainable energy sources have their own drawbacks, so there must be some reason why nuclear fusion is not a viable source of energy. In response to this itching curiosity, I did some quick research on the use of nuclear fusion to harness power for our planet. I came across this great video that discusses the possibilities!

Scientists are investigating the use of nuclear fusion!

Benefits of Nuclear Fusion:

1. Minimal CO2 emissions.

2. Does not produce radioactive fuels as waste

3. Unlike renewable sources, such as solar and wind, we could control how much power we generate to keep things in line with demand.

Nuclear fusion has the potential to save us from fossil fuels!

However, the major drawback includes: it is extremely difficult to get nuclear fusion started with using massive amounts of energy to do so. As of right now, scientists are investigating ways to ignite the reaction in a way that generates more energy than it requires.

An additional drawback includes the difficulty of extracting the energy from the reactor once it is finally produced. 

Similarly, experiments can only occur every few years due to the lack of supplies (specifically combining Deuterium and Tritium, which are hydrogen nuclei 😱).

Nuclear power is an energy source worth investigating, however, we are still at least 30 years away from this source being a viable option.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .