Can someone answer these simple questions for a layman re. fusion?

I'm sorry to ask such dumb questions but I'm trying to get a handle on
this whole subject.

Regarding 'normal' Deuterium-Tritium fusion as it's understood today,
would some kind soul please give me some answers, in layman terms, to
these basic questions.


1. Okay, so a deuteron and a triton can fuse if pushed together to
form a helium nucleus (alpha particle?) plus a neutron plus energy.
Everyone goes on about the great energy released but what form is it
in? Is this energy tied up as the kinetic energy that the resultant
particles have as they speed away from the point of the fusion event
or is it predominantly in some other form and if so what? What sort of
speeds do these resulting fusion product have after the event?


2. What will absorb these fast moving children of the fusion event? Is
some process of absorbtion how people hope to extract the energy
released by any sort of fusion reaction? Something like fast moving
neutrons hitting metal like tungsten or uranium and it heating up
sufficiently that that heat can boil water and bingo, steam drives a
turbine. What's the thinking behind how to capture the energy released
by fusion events?


3. What is a barn? I keep coming across it in the literature but I
don't understand the explanations of what this unit is. I understand
that it is something to do with the measure of cross-section of the
target area of the collision or somesuch. Is this right? Thanks in
advance. Sorry its a dumb question. I'm not that smart.


4. I understand that fusion requires 'very high temperatures and
extremely high pressures' to occur. All the books state this but...

Surely when a physicist says 'pressure' they mean density which means
proximity, ie. putting the things you want to fuse together into close
proximity, close enough to allow the possibility that nuclei are bound
to interact. Find a way to put particles in very close proximity and
you don't need the high 'pressures' as such.

And surely when a physicist says 'temperature' they mean particle
velocity, motion, ie. get the things you want to fuse together moving
toward one another at high enough speeds, even if over a short
distance, so that a likely collision overcomes the repulsion effect
sufficiently to let the closer attraction effect pull these bits
together into a new nucleus. Find a way to get these particles moving
toward one another, even over a short distance, with sufficient force
and you don't need the high 'temperatures' as such either.

Are these right?

I guess this is the general thinking behind the 'cold' fusion idea? Is
this correct?


And finally...


5. Cold fusion using metals to absorb hydrogen confuses to me
regarding the packing of metal atoms. But then I stand to be corrected
on this. As I understand the idea, it goes like this : the gaps
between the metal atoms of elements like platinum and palladium and
others will allow something like a small hydrogen atom to be absorbed,
the hydrogen slips into the gaps between the packing of the metal
atoms and it sits where, stored and ready. These metal atoms are then
'excited' ie. made to jig about and hurrah, the gaps open up and close
as per the excitation and any hydrogen in those gaps gets squeezed and
if you get it squeezing rapidly enough, zap, you fulfil the conditions
of forced proximity and rapid approach of the hydrogen nuclei. BUT all
the diagrams and descriptions I've seen seem so far suggest spaces for
single hydrogen/D/T atoms instead of the more sensible aim of
making/finding spaces for pairs of atoms. Plus how can you ensure the
metal absorbs something like D-T gas pairs, which would seem to be the
best starting point for fusion. Surely fusion needs pairs of 'stuff'
in those gaps rather than just any old single atoms... otherwise it's
just a clever gas storage system rather than a big collection of very,
very small reaction vessels? Or do you excite the metal to open up
these gaps and get pairs of hydrogen in there then let the metal cool,
or whatever, to compress the gas(?) in those pockets and whammo they
fuse as the big metal atoms squeeze on them or somesuch? At some
stage, surely there's a need to get the electrons away from those
hydrogen atoms. I don't get it. I cannot see what is supposed to
happen inside such metal's structures? Or am I looking at this the
wrong way or missing something?


Sorry if the questions are stupid but I just look at stuff as a
layman.


Thanks in advance.


David
.

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