UNIVERSE
THE SUN
|
Question
[CLICK ON ANY CHOICE TO KNOW THE RIGHT ANSWER]
|
|
|
helium is burned to release energy
|
|
|
hydrogen is burned to release energy
|
|
|
helium atoms join together to form hydrogen, releasing energy
|
|
|
hydrogen atoms join together to form helium, releasing energy
|
Detailed explanation-1: -Fusion reactions occur when two nuclei come together to form one atom. The reaction that happens in the sun fuses two Hydrogen atoms together to produce Helium. It looks like this in a very simplified way: H + H → He + ENERGY. This energy can be calculated by the famous Einstein equation, E = mc2.
Detailed explanation-2: -A fusion reactor produces helium, which is an inert gas. It also produces and consumes tritium within the plant in a closed circuit.
Detailed explanation-3: -It produces an alpha particle (or Helium-4 nucleus) and a neutron, and releases 17.6 megaelectron volt (MeV) of energy in the form of kinetic energy of the products (3.5 MeV to alpha particle and 14.1 MeV to neutron).
Detailed explanation-4: -While it might seem confusing that energy can be generated by both fusion and fission, as they appear to be quite opposite processes, the explanation lies in the size of the nuclei. Light elements, such as hydrogen and helium, have small nuclei that release lots of energy when they fuse together.