Chapter 4 Essay Question and News Article Part A: What is the difference between fission and fusion? Where do they occur in the Universe? (Include human-made events and devices.) What elements are typical for fission? For fusion?Fission and Fusion are both nuclear reactions that generate energy, but there is a definite difference between them. Fission is the splitting of a nucleus which results in two nuclei while fusion is where two nuclei combine into one and energy is released from them. While they are somehow related because they are the opposite reactions of each other, these two processes are extremely different. Nuclear fission is where one nucleus becomes two. This is because the nucleus is heavy with energy and it splits into two nuclei with lighter energy. The one nucleus is too unstable to support itself, meaning it has the same number of protons but a different number of neutrons, so its reaction is to spilt into two. The elements that are typically present during fission is uranium and plutonium. The energy that results from this process is what is used to heat water in nuclear reactors and eventually creates electricity. Nuclear fusion is the exact opposite of fission. While fission is the splitting of the nucleus, fusion is the merging of two nuclei. The element that is usually present during fusion is hydrogen. Fusion is the energy that powers the sun, atoms merge under extreme pressure and temperature and a vast amount of energy is released during this process. This reaction is vital to human survival. If fusion did not occur daily then there would not be a sun to warm the earth, and life as people know it would drastically change. Fission and fusion are both nuclear reactions and produce energy but their energy is not used in the same way. Fission is also a reaction that does not normally occur in nature, it is something that is produced though human experiments. Fusion is more uncreditable because it isa natural occurrence. This is able to explain why fission is easier to control because it is created and controlled by humans, while fusion is a natural process and is hard to be controlled. Because fission can be controlled it its what issued in nuclear power reactors while fusion is not utilized because the reaction is not easily controlled and is super expensive to produce. Part B: Read and find an article on physics or technology from some serious website. Give the link to that article, and summarize the article, drawing connections to class and/or explaining what you do not understand about the article.Recently in Antarctica, there has been particles that are being found that are blowing scientist’s minds. Cosmic rays are nothing new to science, but they are now doing something thatthey never have done before. Cosmic rays have been found that are being blasted though space, into the earth, then right back out. The information scientists have called Standard Model (SM) of particle physics gives no evidence to how this is happening. It has been monthsof Part A: Energy, Duke. “Fission vs. Fusion – What's the Difference?” Duke Energy | Nuclear InformationCenter, Duke Energy Corporation, nuclear.duke-energy.com/2013/01/30/fission-vs-fusion-whats-the-difference. Part
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