A prototype fusion reactor relies on the reaction of two deuterium nuclei to produce a helium-3 nucleus and a neutron, releasing 3.27MeV of energy per fusion event. The plant is expected to deliver a net thermal power of 500MW to the coolant, though only 50% of the energy released in the plasma can be transferred to the coolant.
(i) Determine the total energy that must be produced in the plasma each second to meet the coolant power requirement.
(ii) Calculate the number of fusion reactions per second corresponding to this energy production.
(iii) Estimate the mass of deuterium fuel that must be supplied per day, assuming that two deuterium nuclei participate in each fusion event.