Re: Proton-Proton Fusion- the easy way

John Savard wrote:

>On Fri, 19 Aug 2005 14:38:49 +0100, Russell Wallace
><russell.no.spam@xxxxxxxxx> wrote, in part:
>
>>What about helium fusion? This is probably a silly idea - I know it
>>requires considerably higher temperatures - but as I understand it, He
>>fusion involves only strong interactions, and one thing we can do is
>>make fuel very hot for very short periods of time, at least. Is there
>>any prospect of that working? I mean ever at all even in principle, not
>>just in the near future?
>
>Certainly it's possible: stars do it when they use up their hydrogen.
>Carbon-12 is produced, though, not Beryllium-8.

alpha-alpha fusion produces Be 8 in a very unstable nuclear state, which
decays back to two alphas, so another alpha has to hit the Be8* before
the latter decays. This is the triple-alpha fusion which drives red
giants and it requires stellar densities and temperatures to function.

>But D-D fusion is way easier, so it will be done first.

And D-T is easier still, and so while D-D was done first it is D-T which
has been done at the megawatt levels :-)

--
ciao,
Bruce

drift wave turbulence: http://www.rzg.mpg.de/~bds/

.

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