Nuclear fusion is such a big concept we can hardly begin to understand it. World Economic Forum (WEF) describes the extraordinary process as it occurs in the suns and stars. Did you ever imagine doing a nuclear fusion simulation in the kitchen? Although to be honest this is a simplified example, to avoid blowing out the windows and getting into trouble.
WEF Explains Immeasurable Power of Fusion
Immense forces compress and heat hydrogen and plasma in the universe to unimaginable temperatures. When this reaches 100 million degrees celsius, light particles fuse with helium forming a new element, and releasing massive energy.
Now if we could capture that energy it would be a marvelous thing, because we would have a cleaner source of power. Scientists on earth have been trying to do this for over seventy years, using deuterium and tritium in prototype fusion plants.
Deuterium is present in ocean water, and we can extract tritium by irradiating lithium. Would you believe the deuterium in one gallon of water could release the same amount of energy as 300 gallons of oil?
How to Conduct Your Nuclear Fusion Simulation
You will need the following raw materials:
- Sufficient raw dough to make two decent-size cookies
- A piece of wax paper say one foot by one foot
- A microwave oven (do remember to ask cook first)
- A small kitchen scale, or balance to weigh the cookies
First, place two equal-size pieces of cookie dough on the wax paper, one-inch apart. Then weigh them together on the scale or balance. Write the result on a piece of note paper. Now, put the cookies through the microwave for one minute, and let them cool for a further minute.
Immediately weigh the cookies again. They are lighter now! The weight loss is an analogy for the energy released by fusion.
The raw cookies represent the atoms in actual fusion in this simulation. While the baked cookies, on the other hand remind us of the new element fusion creates. The mass in the cookies is reduced due to loss of water. While in real fusion the loss is the energy we could use in our kitchens, if we could figure out how.
More Information
Build a Mini Tesla Coil for School
Why Some Fruit and Veg Conduct Electricity
