In a proposed fusion reactor the dominant reaction is 12H+13H→24He+n+17.6MeV. The reactor is designed to supply a steady thermal output of 500MW. Take 1eV=1.60×10−19J and c=3.0×108ms−1.
(i) Convert the energy released per fusion reaction to joules.
(ii) Determine the number of fusion reactions that must occur each second to maintain the stated power output.
(iii) Calculate the mass of deuterium–tritium fuel that is actually converted into energy in one full day of operation.