USES OF FUSION

Use of Fusion to Produce Radioisotopes

Charged particle bombardment, also known as nuclear fusion, is a particular process that yields radioisotopes that are not readily available by the neutron bombardment or fission process. Like nuclear fission, fusion reactions generate large quantities of energy. The process differs from fission in that rather than splitting a high mass into smaller mass, the reaction results in the joining of low mass nuclei into a large mass nuclei. Nuclear fusion has been defined as the joining of two small mass nuclei to form a single larger atomic nuclei.

The one important condition required in the fusion process is extremely high temperatures. For this reason, nuclear fusion is also known as a thermonuclear reaction. It is understood, for nuclear fusion to take place, temperatures exceeding 1 million degrees Celsius must be achieved. At these temperatures, matter takes on the state of plasma consisting of positively charged ions. These ions are basically the nuclei of the original atoms, with free electrons. High-energy machines capable of accelerating these particles to great velocity are required for bombardment. Van de Graaff generators and Linear accelerators are commonly utilized to serve this function.

Commercially available radioisotopes are produced by this process using the deuteron as the bombarding particle. A deuteron is the nucleus of a hydrogen-2 atom. This allows the production of radioisotopes similar to that of neutron bombardment. Keep in mind the difference being charged particle bombardment, neutrons are not charged particles. When a deuteron enters the nucleus of the target atom, a proton exits the atom. The result is an isotope that is one neutron heavier; much like that of neutron bombardment.

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