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Project Report On
Master of Science
In
PHYSICS
Under the supervision of Submitted by:
Mrs. Babita Paras
Department of Physics
Maharshi Dayanand PG College
Sri Ganganagar (Raj.)
2017-2018
Department of Physics
Maharshi Dayanand PG College
Sri Ganganagar (Raj.)
CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that the project report entitled “NUCLEAR
FUSION AND FISSION” submitted to Maharaja Ganga Singh
University for the Degree of Master of Science is a bonafide record
of original work done by “Paras” under my supervision during 2017-
2018.
PARAS
1. INTRODUCTION
Fission has a unique importance among nuclear reaction. Apart from the
nuclear reaction that drive the sun, no other nuclear reaction has had such a
profound inspect on the affairs of men. The discovery of fission, and the
developments that proceeded from it, have altered the world forever and have
impinged on the consciousness of every literate human being. The exploitation
of nuclear energy, which followed the discovery of fission, particularly in
weapons of mass destruction, has been of profound importance to humankind.
Ec = ac Z2/A1/3
As shown above the fission process to begin, the shape of nucleus must be
deformed. This means R must become large resulting in an increase of surface
energy and decrease in coulomb energy. The net change in energy
ΔE α (2Es – Ec)
Or acZ2/A1/3 = 2asA1/3
Or Z2/A = 2as/ac
Z2/A = 45 (approx.)
Thus, according to Bohr-Wheeler theory, spontaneous fission should occur in
nuclides with Z2/A values greater then 45. For nuclides with Z2/A value less then
45, fission is not expected to occur unless some particle is captured by the nuclei
which supplies the activation energy required.
= 0.21544 a.m.u.
Out of this energy, 170 MeV is carried by the fission fragments as kinetic
energy, 5MeV by fission neutrons, 15 MeV by ß and γ-rays which are produced
due to the radioactivity of the fission fragments and 10 MeV by the neutrons
associated with ß-decay.
The fast neutrons produced in the fission process can be thermalised i.e. brought
down to thermal energies with the help of moderators like heavy water and
graphite and then used to initiate fission i another U235 atom.
3. NUCLEAR FISSION
The process of breaking up the nucleus of a heavy atom into
two, more or less equal segment with the release of a large
amount of energy is known as fission.
Nuclear power plants operate by precisely controlling the rate at which nuclear
reactions occur, and that control is maintained through the use of several
redundant layers of safety measures. Moreover, the materials in a nuclear
reactor core and the uranium enrichment level make a nuclear explosion
impossible, even if all safety measures failed. On the other hand, nuclear
weapons are specifically engineered to produce a reaction that is so fast and
intense it cannot be controlled after it has started. When properly designed, this
uncontrolled reaction can lead to an explosive energy release.
A = 1/K
5. FISSION FRAGMENTS AND FISSION
PRODUCTS
Fission fragments have a double bell distribution as a funcation of A.
Note that they are unstable, as are neutron rich they decay towards stable
nuclei by a chain of beta decays.
This yields the so called “fission products”.
Some fifty per cent of fission products have decay times less then one
year, the rest has lifetimes that can be as long as million years.
6. NEUTRONS FROM FISSION
One distinguishes two types neutrons from fission: prompt neutrons they
are those accompanying the two nuclear frangments,
e.g the 2n in 235U + n → 93Rb + 141Cs + 2n
in this case of 235U, there are on the average 2.42 prompt neutrons –
delayed neutrons.
These are associated with the beta decay of the fission products. Indeed,
after prompt fission neutron emission the residual fragments are still
neuytron rich. They undergo a ß decay chain. In some cases the
available energy in the ß decay is high enough for leaving the residual
nucleus in such a highly exited state that neutron emission instead of
gamma emission occurs.(beta delayed neutron emission).
Delayed neutrons have delays of order seconds. They are about 1/100
fission. Delayed neutrons are essential for the control of nuclear
reactors.
7. Type Of Nuclear fission
7.1 Spontaneous and induced nuclear fission
Nuclei with atomic numbers greater than 83 are unstable although some
have very long half-lives. Above this value of Z, the repulsive electrical
force between the protons is greater than the attractive strong nuclear
force between the nucleons, and the nuclei disintegrate. For most
naturally-occurring nuclei, the decay is by spontaneous α- or β-decay,
and these are often accompanied by γ-decay. However there are other
possibilities:
In some cases a very heavy parent nucleus decays into two
(medium mass) daughter nuclei. This is called nuclear fission and a
material containing nuclei that undergo fission is said to be a fissile
material.
We can see from fig 1 that a consequence of a fusion reaction, such as the
one represented by reaction 1
256
Fm100→ 140 Xe54+ 112 Pd46+41n0 (1)
Is that the binding energy per nucleon for each of the daughter
nuclei is larger then that of the original nucleus. As a result
fission is energetically favoured and is there for likely to occur,
with the consequent release of energy difference (called the Q-
vale of the reaction).
This energy difference is carried away as kinetic energy by the
decay products. In the case of reaction 1, the Q-vale is about 150
MeV, and the process can be represented as:
256
Fm100→ 140 Xe54+ 112 Pd46+41n0 +150MeV
The nucleus 236U92 is unstable and decays rapidly by fission. There are
many possible decays or nuclear decay channels for this process. One
possibility is:
1
n0 +235U92 → 236
U92→141Cs55 + 93Rb37 + 21n0 +180MeV (3)
This will lead to a steady release of energy that can be used to produce
the steam that ultimately drives the generators in a power station.
But if too few of the neutrons produce further fission—because they have
been absorbed in non-fission reactions or have escaped from the surface
of the uranium sample then the process will fizzle out, no useful energy
is obtained and the reactor is said to be subcritical. On the other hand, if
too many neutrons produce further fission the reactor is said to be
supercritical—it will overheat and could melt-down or even explode,
as happened at Chernobyl. A practical nuclear reactor must maintain a
critical state, i.e. have a controlled balance between the subcritical and
supercritical state, and this is achieved by various factors that are
crucial in reactor design. The heart of the reactor, known as the core, is
where the fission reactions take place.
If a sample of fission material is small, neutrons will have a high
probability of escaping from the sample rather than being absorbed by
another nucleus, and the sample will therefore be subcritical. In a large
sample, neutrons released in the interior are very likely to be absorbed by
another nucleus before they can reach the surface and escape. The mass is
just large enough to ensure that enough neutron are absorbed to sustain a
chain reaction is called the critical mass. For and enriched uranium the
critical mass is about 15 kg – enough to make a sphere about 12cm in
diameter. If the mass exceeds this critical mass, the sample becomes super
critical and will explode. In principle the operation of a nuclear fission
bomb simply requires this amount of fissile material to be concentrated
together.
What influences the upper limit on the size of a fuel rod ?
The two or more neutrons produced as a result of a fission have energies of
the order of MeV. As they are not thermal neutron, they will be ineffective in
producing further fissions to keep the chain reaction going. The function of
the moderator is two slow the fission neutrons down to thermal energies
before the enter another fuel rod, enabling them sustain a chain reaction.
Neutrons, being uncharged, can be loose energy by colliding with nuclei in
the moderator. The moderator is chosen to make this process as effective as
possible. We can draw a result from mechanics. Which tells us that the
optimum condition is when the incident and target particle have the same
mass. Energy would be still be lost from the neutron if it were to collide with
a heavier nucleus but this would not be ideal, as more collision would be
required to reduced the neutron energy by a given amount and so a larger
amount of moderator would be needed.
Ideally, a moderator should have be following property:
1. It’s atom should have a mass number as close to unity as possible, it’s
implies to be close to that of fission neutron.
2. It should be a solid or liquid, resulting in a high density of a target
nuclei.
3. It must note absorbed the chain reaction neutrons via chain neutron via
other nuclear reactions.
4. It must be chemically stable, cheap and abundant. No single martial
satisfied all these criteria perfectly, but to commonly used moderator
are graphite and water.
Why is water is suitable material of moderator?
1. It’s atom should have a mass number as close to unity as possible, it’s
implies to be close to that of fission neutron.
2. It should be a solid or liquid, resulting in a high density of a target
nuclei.
3. It must note absorbed the chain reaction neutrons via chain neutron via
other nuclear reactions.
4. It must be chemically stable, cheap and abundant. No single martial
satisfied all these criteria perfectly, but to commonly used moderator
are graphite and water.
Yet another type of fission reactor uses a smaller core with plutonium as the
fissile material, surrounded by a blanket of natural uranium. The principles of
this reactor are similar to those already discussed except that plutonium fission
does not require thermal neutrons this type of reactor is known as a fast reactor
or breeder reactor. The second name stems from the ability of this type of
reactor to generation plutonium within the uranium blanket, as fast neutrons
escaping from the core are captured. The rector can, in principle, be designed
either to be a net consumer or a net producer of plutonium. There are several
prototype fast breeder reactors in existence but there are some technological
problems with their operation and it is debatable whether they will ever become
commercially viable.
Fig 8 shows a schematic diagram of one type of nuclear reactor in common use
– the advanced gas-cooled reactor (AGR) .Another type, the pressurized water
reactor (PWR), is based on the same physical principles but uses pressurized
water as both coolant and moderator.
Fig 8: Schematic diagram of advanced gas-cooled reactor
9.ATOMIC ENERGY
It has been calculated that one pound of uranium 235, can produce as much
energy by fission as is produced by a explosion of 10,000 tons of gun powder.
The principle of fission is used in the construction of the atomic bomb.
In the hydrogen bomb, the synthesis of a heavier atom like helium, from
hydrogen, results in the release of energy. The process of manufacture and the
actual details of atomic bomb and hydrogen bomb are closely guarded secrets.
Atomic energy is now being harnessed for industrial and other peaceful
uses by having a controlled release. The ordinary chain reaction is so vigrouous
and of so short a duration that the tremendous amount of energy released can
cause nothing but destruction. Fermi suggested a device of starting a chain
reaction n natural uranium containing with the help of moderators. A moderator
is an element of low atomic number like heavy hydrogen or carbon in the form
of graphite. These elements reduce considerably the speed of neutrons produced
due to fission of uranium nucleus and corresponding fission is thus very much
increased. It is, therefore not necessary to separate U235 from U238.
It is hoped that the atomic energy will open up fresh avenues and in time
will become much cheaper than the present price of electricity, coal or petrol.
10.Advantage and Disadvantage of Nuclear Fission
10.1 Advantages:
11.1 PROCESS
Research into controlled fusion, with the aim of producing fusion power
for the production of electricity, has been conducted for over 60 years. It has
been accompanied by extreme scientific and technological difficulties, but has
resulted in progress. At present, controlled fusion reactions have been unable to
produce break-even (self-sustaining) controlled fusion. Workable designs for a
reactor that theoretically will deliver ten times more fusion energy than the
amount needed to heat plasma to the required temperatures are in development
The ITER facility is expected to finish its construction phase in 2019. It will
start commissioning the reactor that same year and initiate plasma experiments
in 2020, but is not expected to begin full deuterium-tritium fusion until 2027.
The fusion of lighter nuclei, which creates a heavier nucleus and often a
free neutron or proton, generally releases more energy than it takes to force the
nuclei together; this is an exothermic process that can produce self-sustaining
reactions. The US National Ignition Facility, which uses laser-driven inertial
confinement fusion, was designed with a goal of break-even fusion.
The first large-scale laser target experiments were performed in June
2009 and ignition experiments began in early 2011. Energy released in most
nuclear reactions are much larger than in chemical reactions, because the
binding energy that holds a nucleus together is far greater than the energy that
holds electrons to a nucleus. For example, the ionization energy gained by
adding an electron to a hydrogen nucleus is 13.6 eV—less than one-millionth of
the 17.6 MeV released in the deuterium–tritium (D–T) reaction shown in the
adjacent diagram. The complete conversion of one gram of matter would
release 9×1013 joules of energy. Fusion reactions have an energy density many
times greater than nuclear fission; the reactions produce far greater energy per
unit of mass even though individual fission reactions are generally much more
energetic than individual fusion ones, which are themselves millions of times
more energetic than chemical reactions. Only direct conversion of mass into
energy, such as that caused by the annihilator collision of matter and antimatter,
is more energetic per unit of mass than nuclear fusion.
11.2 Requirements
The Coulomb
barrier is smallest for
isotopes of hydrogen, as their nuclei contain only a single positive charge. A
diproton is not stable, so neutrons must also be involved, ideally in such a way
that a helium nucleus, with its extremely tight binding, is one of the products.
This limits the reactants to the low Z (number of protons) side of the curve of
binding energy. It also makes helium 4He the most common product because of
its extraordinarily tight binding, although 3He and 3H also show up.
This is because the electrostatic repulsion must be overcome before the nuclei
are close enough to fuse.
Have two reactants
At anything less than stellar densities, three body collisions are too improbable.
In inertial confinement, both stellar densities and temperatures are exceeded to
compensate for the shortcomings of the third parameter of the Lawson criterion,
ICF's very short confinement time.
The cross sections for the weak interaction are too small.
Few reactions meet these criteria. The following are those with the largest cross
sections
(2ii) 2
D1 + 2D1 → 3
H2 ( 0.82 MeV ) + n0 ( 2.45MeV )
(3) 2
D1 + 3H2 → 4
H2 ( 3.6 MeV ) + p+ ( 14.7MeV )
(4) 3
T1 + 3T1 → 4
H2 + 2 n0 + 11.3 MeV
(5) 3
H2 + 3H2 → 4
H2 + 2 p+ + 12.9 MeV
(6) 3
H2 + 3T1 → 4
H2 + p+ + n0 + 12.1 MeV 57 %
(6ii) 3
H2 + 3T1 → 4
H2 (4.8 MeV) + 2D1 (9.5 Mev) 42 %
(7i) 2
D1 + 6Li3 → 2 4H2 + 22.4 MeV
(7ii) 2
D1 + 6Li3 → 3
H2 + 4H2 + n0 + 2.56 MeV
(7iii) 2
D1 + 6Li3 → 7
Li3 + p+ + 5.0 MeV
(7iv) 2
D1 + 6Li3 → 7
Be4 + n0 + 3.4 MeV
(8) p+ + 6Li3 → 4
H2 ( 1.7 MeV ) + 3H2 ( 2.3 MeV )
(9) 3
H2 + 6Li3 → 2 4H2 + p+ + 16.9 MeV
For reactions with two products, the energy is divided between them in inverse
proportion to their masses, as shown. In most reactions with three products, the
distribution of energy varies. For reactions that can result in more than one set
of products, the branching ratios are given.
The latter of the two equations was unknown when the U.S. conducted the
Castle Bravo fusion bomb test in 1954. Being just the second fusion bomb ever
tested (and the first to use lithium), the designers of the Castle Bravo "Shrimp"
had understood the usefulness of Lithium-6 in tritium production, but had failed
to recognize that Lithium-7 fission would greatly increase the yield of the
bomb. While Li-7 has a small neutron cross-section for low neutron energies, it
has a higher cross section above 5 MeV. The 15 Mt yield was 150% greater
than the predicted 6 Mt and caused unexpected exposure to fallout.
If the energy to initiate the reaction comes from accelerating one of the nuclei,
the process is called beam-target fusion; if both nuclei are accelerated, it is
beam-beam fusion.
The fusion reaction normally takes place in a plasma of deuterium and tritium
heated to millions of degrees. In stars, gravity contains these fuels. Outside of a
star, the most researched way to confine the plasma at these temperatures is to use
magnetic fields. The major challenge in realising fusion power is to engineer a
system that can confine the plasma long enough at high enough temperature and
density.
Over the years, fusion researchers have investigated various confinement concepts.
The early emphasis was on three main systems: z-pinch, stellarator and magnetic
mirror. The current leading designs are the tokamak and inertial confinement (ICF)
by laser. Both designs are being built at very large scales, most notably the ITER
tokamak in France, and the National Ignition Facility laser in the USA.
Researchers are also studying other designs that may offer cheaper approaches.
Among these alternatives there is increasing interest in magnetized target fusion
and inertial electrostatic
14. Nuclear fusion in stars
The most important fusion process in nature is the one that powers stars,
stellar nucleosynthesis. In the 20th century, it was realized that the energy
released from nuclear fusion reactions accounted for the longevity of the Sun
and other stars as a source of heat and light. The fusion of nuclei in a star,
starting from its initial hydrogen and helium abundance, provides that energy
and synthesizes new nuclei as a byproduct of the fusion process. The prime
energy producer in the Sun is the fusion of hydrogen to form helium, which
occurs at a solar-core temperature of 14 million kelvin. The net result is the
fusion of four protons into one alpha particle, with the release of two positrons,
two neutrinos (which
changes two of the protons into neutrons), and energy. Different reaction chains
are involved, depending on the mass of the star. For stars the size of the sun or
smaller, the proton-proton chain dominates. In heavier stars, the CNO cycle is
more important.
Inside the Sun, this process begins with protons (which is simply a lone
hydrogen nucleus) and through a series of steps, these protons fuse together and
are turned into helium. This fusion process occurs inside the core of the Sun,
and the transformation results in a release of energy that keeps the sun hot. The
resulting energy is radiated out from the core of the Sun and moves across the
solar system. It is important to note that the core is the only part of the Sun that
produces any significant amount of heat through fusion (it contributes about
99%) The rest of the Sun is
heated by energy transferred
outward from the core.
Steps
The overall process of proton-
proton fusion within the Sun
can be broken down into
several simple steps. A visual
representation of this process
is shown in Figure 1. The
steps are:
The final helium-4 atom has less mass than the original 4 protons that came
together (see E=mc2). Because of this, their combination results in an excess of
energy being released in the form of heat and light that exits the Sun, given by
the mass-energy equivalence. To exit the Sun, this energy must travel through
many layers to the photosphere before it can actually emerge into space as
sunlight. Since this proton-proton chain happens frequently - 9.2 x 1037 times
per second - there is a significant release of energy. Of all of the mass that
undergoes this fusion process, only about 0.7% of it is turned into energy.
Although this seems like a small amount of mass, this is equal to 4.26 million
metric tones of matter being converted to energy per second. Using the mass-
energy equivalence, we find that this 4.26 million metric tones of matter is
equal to about 3.8 x 1026 joules of energy released per second!
16. Advantages and Disadvantages of Nuclear Fusion
16.1 The Advantages of Nuclear Fusion
Nuclear fission creates nuclear waste that must be stored properly to keep
people safe. This shouldn’t be confused with nuclear fusion, which only has the
creation of helium as a byproduct. Helium is non-toxic, safe, and won’t create
the same environmental damage that the burning of fossil fuels creates.
Helium is not one of the greenhouse gases that are believed to be contributing
to changing weather cycles. This means the planet cancontinue to heal and we
don’t have to sacrifice energy levels to make that happen.
16.2 The Disadvantages of Nuclear Fusion
It may only cost $0.03 per kilowatt hour to create energy from nuclear fusion,
but that doesn’t take into account the construction costs necessary to create the
utility infrastructure that would be required. The investment necessary would be
in the trillions of dollars if looked at on a global scale, which means most
economies wouldn’t be able to afford the investment.
The fact is that we don’t really know much about this form of energy creation.
What would happen to the planet in 50 years with an increased level of helium
in the atmosphere? Are there health dangers that we simply do not know yet
and cannot predict?
Although there may be less of a fallout risk and other environmental risks may
also be reduced, high heat levels are just as deadly as anything else. Nuclear
fusion just changes what risks we must take on in order to have the energy
levels we want.
17. DIFFERENCE BETWEEN FISSION AND FUSION
Natural
Fission reaction does not Fusion occurs in stars, such as
occurrence of
normally occur in nature. the sun.
the process
Fusion is an experimental
Energy Fission is used in nuclear
technology for producing
production power plants.
power.
Hydrogen isotopes
(Deuterium and Tritium) are
Uranium is the primary fuel
Fuel the primary fuel used in
used in power plants.
experimental fusion power
plants.
Reference
11. R. F. Post, Proc. of Second U.N. Int. Conf. on Peaceful Uses of Atomic
Energy, Vol. 32, p. 245 (Geneva, 1958)
12. "Laser Inertial Fusion Energy". Life.llnl.gov. Archived from the original
on 2014-09-15. Retrieved 2014-08-24.
16. "MIT tests unique approach to fusion power". MIT News, David
Chandler, MIT News Office, March 19, 2008. Accessed March 2008
17. "Mirror Systems: Fuel Cycles, loss reduction and energy recovery" by
Richard F. Post, BNES Nuclear fusion reactor conferences at Culham
laboratory, September 1969.
19. P.A. Bagryansky et. al., Physical Review Letters 114, 205001 (2015)