Advantages of Hydrogen Fusion

Hydrogen fusion is the process of fusing two light nuclei together to form a heavier nuclei, as in the fusion of hydrogen to create helium. Unlike fission, which is the process by which current nuclear power plants create energy, nuclear fusion occurs naturally in high heat and high density environments, such as the hearts of stars. Fusion also differs from modern fission in that it takes significantly more energy input to generate a reaction, so much so that current methods of inducing fusion reactions produce less energy than was used to create them. Bearing these difficulties in mind, researchers and scientists still pursue a practical method of inducing fusion reactions for energy because of the many potential benefits fusion has over other energy sources.

Energy Output

• Like fission, hydrogen fusion generates significant amounts of energy without contributing to greenhouse emissions or acid rain. This puts both types of nuclear reaction in a class above more conventional fossil fuel models of power generation, which emit airborne pollutants and require other dangerous substances, such as mercury, for their filtering systems. Nuclear reactors also exceed other clean energy sources, such as solar, wind and hydro-electric in that they generate significantly higher power output. The energy released by fission is a million times greater than that released in chemical reactions, and the output of current fission reactors is between one-quarter and one-third the potential output of a comparable fusion reactor.

Safety and Long Term Effects

• Unlike modern fission reactors, which have the rare but devastating potential for malfunction, a fusion reactor would cause significantly less and much shorter-term harm in the event of an out-of-control reaction. Currently, uncontrolled fission reactions can cause a meltdown, releasing highly radioactive particles into the atmosphere and affecting areas far from the event. The long-term pollution caused by a fission meltdown can render the land for many miles around the event uninhabitable for decades. Unlike fission, an out-of-control fusion reaction would stop when the energy input required to maintain it ceased. In a worst-case scenario, an explosive fusion reaction would devastate the immediate area of the reactor but would not cause significant irradiation or have any widespread or long-term effects on the land.

Byproducts

• In fission, many highly radioactive particles are produced by the nuclear reaction, generating nuclear waste that can pose a danger if stored improperly, disturbed or otherwise released from containment. Very few radioactive particles are produced in fusion, and those that are break down quickly, rendering them far less dangerous.