Nuclear fusion

Nuclear fusion

Nuclear fusion is a process in which two or more lighter nuclei combine to form a heavier nucleus. the mass of the product is always less than the sum of masses of the individual lighter nuclei. The difference in mass is converted into energy. The fusion process can be carried out only at a extremely high temperature of the ode of 10⁷ K because, only at these very high temperatures the nuclei are able to overcome their mutual repulsion. Therefore before fusion, the lighter nuclei must have their temperature raised by several million degrees. The nuclear fusion reactions are known as thermo-nuclear reactions.