Fission and Fusion

Check out Fission and Fusion and find out how we can get energy both from splitting an atom and from joining them together!

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• Fission
• Fusion
• electron-volt
• eV
• Million-electron-volts
• MeV
• proton
• neutron
• electron
• nucleon
• nucleus
• nuclei
• deuterium

[AFullerton86]

So this idea of harvesting from the moon brings a few questions to mind. Now I know that 25 tons is minuscule in proportion compared to the overall mass of the moon. So mining from the moon in the beginning most likely wouldn't be a problem. However, over time it could potentially have a greater effect on our planet and it's planetary functions. Just looking for some insight here.

[cassiopeiaproject]

@AFullerton86 Everything we do -- or DON'T do -- has an impact on the planet. We ARE part of the ecosystem. We just need to choose our impacts wisely for the benefit of ourselves and other parts of that system.

[julianjlawrence]

now I know why, we're going back to the moon ;) 

[bongeye420]

@AFullerton86 seems conceivable to me that it could develop potential to effect the earth - moon system. as energy demands rise exponentially it's natural to figure that moon mining would follow suit in order to feed demand. added to this is the reduced mass of the moon and the increased mass of earth - the numbers would for a long time be trivial, but perhaps considerable after some time. do you have any thoughts?

[Skrimyt]

Meh, the main advantage of He3 fusion is that it's aneutronic. It's not better enough than the D-T cycle to justify a lunar mining operation for the purposes of powering civilization on Earth - where D and Li are common, and we can breed T and extract energy from the neutrons without that much difficulty. He3 I think would be really nice for spacecraft fusion engines in the future though, where you'd want more easily controllable charged particles from which to extract energy and produce thrust.

[jmitterii2]

@AFullerton86 Silly people, the moon is made of cheese.

[cH33zewarri0r]

make your h3 generators today

[timewasteland]

AWESOME! Thanks a lot, I really wanted to know these things.

[MrPVP210]

What about positron emission? A proton has a +1 positive charge, so one could say it has one proton, one positron, and one electron. By emitting the positron, you combine remaining proton and electron to make a neutron. Is it possible to emit a positron and convert a proton to a neutron?

[traviswatts14]

Haha the Music was actually catchy!

[bomanton]

good video... One question- the chemical reaction seems to be not balanced when you talk about substituting in the He-3. The reactants have 3 protons and the products have 2 protons. What am I missing?

[opie4800]

outstanding! what a clean presentation... i feel enlightened

[CptUSMC]

@cassiopeiaproject If I'm not mistaken, H^3 is scattered on the surface of the moon. Therefore no under the surface mining is required, rather just gathering top soil.

*I believe* it is because elements from the sun are changed within and bounced off of our atmosphere into space and since the moon does not have a substantial atmosphere to reflect the element like the Earth does, the moon catches some of these reflected elements where it, for the most part, sits on the top meters of the surface.