![]() ![]() This is why fusion is still in the research and development phase – and fission is already making electricity. The reasons that have made fusion so difficult to achieve to date are the same ones that make it safe: it is a finely balanced reaction which is very sensitive to the conditions – the reaction will die if the plasma is too cold or too hot, or if there is too much fuel or not enough, or too many contaminants, or if the magnetic fields are not set up just right to control the turbulence of the hot plasma. Unlike nuclear fission, the nuclear fusion reaction in a tokamak is an inherently safe reaction. Energy can be released by either breaking apart a big nucleus into two smaller ones (nuclear fission) or by joining together two smaller nuclei into one larger. It is the opposite of nuclear fission, in which heavy atoms are split apart. In conventional nuclear power stations today, there are systems in place to moderate the chain reactions to prevent accident scenarios and stringent security measures to deal with proliferation issues. In nuclear fusion, pairs of tiny particles called atoms are heated and forced together to make one heavier one. ![]() And that is just if two neutrons create fission reactions each round. Of course, each time fission occurs, more energy will be emitted, further increasing the power of the atomic reaction. This chain reaction is the key to fission reactions, but it can lead to a runaway process resulting in nuclear accidents. One fission will produce two atoms, the next round of fission will create four atoms, the third round eight atoms, and so on. The result of the instability is the nucleus breaking up, in any one of many different ways, and producing more neutrons, which in turn hit more uranium atoms and make them unstable and so on. It is triggered by uranium absorbing a neutron, which renders the nucleus unstable. Fission and chain reactionsįission is the nuclear process that is currently run in nuclear power plants. Both reactions release energy which, in a power plant, would be used to boil water to drive a steam generator, thus producing electricity. However, fusion is combining light atoms, for example two hydrogen isotopes, deuterium and tritium, to form the heavier helium. As president, chairman, and CEO of Southern, he received numerous accolades, including being named one of the most influential leaders in the energy industry in the past 25 years.ĪNS awarded Fanning a Presidential Citation at this year’s Annual Meeting in Indianapolis, Ind.In fission, energy is gained by splitting heavy atoms, for example uranium, into smaller atoms such as iodine, caesium, strontium, xenon and barium, to name just a few. During his more than 43 years with Southern, Fanning held executive roles across various business disciplines, including finance, strategy, international business development, and technology. In nucleus fusion, several smaller nuclei are fused. His board seat will be filled by Chris Womack, who replaced Fanning as Southern’s president and chief executive officer earlier this year.Įlected by the Southern board in July 2010, Fanning became company president in August 2010 and assumed the additional responsibilities of chairman and CEO that December. In nuclear fission, a large unstable nucleus is split into several smaller and more stable nuclei. Fission is the splitting of a heavy, unstable nucleus into two lighter nuclei, and fusion is the process where two light nuclei combine together releasing vast amounts of energy. Tom Fanning, Southern Company board executive chairman and the man who helmed the firm during construction of the two new AP1000 reactors at Georgia’s Vogtle nuclear plant, will retire December 31, Southern has announced. Both fission and fusion are nuclear reactions that produce energy, but the processes are very different.
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