Consider the fusion reaction ^ 2 _ 1 H +^ 2 _ 1 H ; ;^ 3 _ 2 He +n

PHYSICS · Subjective · A Level · Physics · Nuclear physics · Nuclear physics

Problem

Consider the fusion reaction 12H+12H  ⟶  23He+n.^{2}_{1}\text{H}+^{2}_{1}\text{H}\;\longrightarrow\;^{3}_{2}\text{He}+n. The atomic masses are: 12H=2.01410 u^{2}_{1}\text{H}=2.01410\,\text{u}, 23He=3.01603 u^{3}_{2}\text{He}=3.01603\,\text{u}, n=1.00866 un=1.00866\,\text{u}. (i) Show that the energy released in a single occurrence of the above reaction is approximately 3.3 MeV3.3\,\text{MeV}. (ii) A proposed fusion reactor based on this reaction is designed to produce a steady electrical output of 1.0 GW1.0\,\text{GW} with an overall efficiency of 35 %35\,\%. Estimate: (1) the number of fusion reactions that must occur each second inside the reactor core, and (2) the mass of deuterium fuel that will be consumed in one day (24 h).

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