Question

₁H¹ + ₁H² → ₂He³ + ₀n¹

The above nuclear reaction is called:

1. Nuclear fission
2. Nuclear fusion
3. Artificial transmutation 
4. Spontaneous disintegration

Answer 1

Correct Answer - Option 2 : Nuclear fusion

Concept:

• Nuclear fusion: Fusion means joining lighter nuclei to make a heavier nucleus, most commonly hydrogen or hydrogen isotopes to create helium.

2H + 2H → 3He (+ n)

• It releases a tremendous amount of energy, according to the Einstein equation, as the mass of the product is little less than the sum of the masses of the original individual nuclei. 
• Nuclear fission: In this process, the nucleus of a heavy atom (such as uranium, plutonium, or thorium), when bombarded with low-energy neutrons, can be split apart into lighter nuclei.
  • When this is done, a tremendous amount of energy is released if the mass of the original nucleus is just a little more than the sum of the masses of the individual products.
  • The fission of an atom of uranium, for example, produces 10 million times the energy produced by the combustion of an atom of carbon from coal. 
  • In a nuclear reactor designed for electric power generation, such nuclear ‘fuel’ can be part of a self-sustaining fission chain reaction that releases energy at a controlled rate.
  • The released energy can be used to produce steam and further generate electricity.
• Artificial transmutation: The conversion of an element into another element by bombarding it with a fundamental particle is known as artificial transmutation.
  • This process was first carried out on nitrogen whose nucleus was bombarded with an α particle to produce oxygen.
• Spontaneous transmutation: This is the type of radioactive decay in which certain unstable nuclei of heavier elements split into two nearly equal fragments and liberate a large amount of energy. 
  • Spontaneous fission, discovered (1941) by the Russian physicists G.N.

Explanation:

• Nuclear fusion is a reaction in which two or more atomic nuclei are combined to form one or more different atomic nuclei and subatomic particles (neutrons or protons).

1H1 + 1H2 → 2He3 + 0n1

• In the given reaction, two smaller nuclei (deuterium) are combined to form a larger nucleus of helium along with a sub particle neutron.

Hence, it is an example of nuclear fusion.