Chapter 5 Internet Research Topic with News Article Part A: Internet Research Topic - Look up cold fusion. What are people claiming? If their claims are correct, why do we not yet have operating cold fusion power plants? Cold Fusion is a hypothesized type of nuclear reaction that is said to occur at room temperature, not under extreme temperature like fusion is. This type of fusion is very controversial in the scientific community. This is because this type of fusion is not supposed to be possible. Fusion is when two separate nuclei join to form one nucleus. During this process all of the nuclei are positively charged and naturally repel one another. Only nuclei that have a high kinetic energy are able to get close enough to one another and fuse together. This is where cold fusion and regular fusion differ. Cold fusion is the attempt to have fusion occur under less extreme circumstances and are able to fuse together easer along with not having to use a high pressure or extreme temperatures. The idea of cold fusion could change the world. This is because it would be to create no radiation or radioactive waste from its process while also being able to occur at room temperature. One other difference of cold fusion and regular fusion is that cold fusion would involve hydrogen isotopes while regular fusion does not. The hydrogen isotopes explain why there would be no radioactive waste that comes from this type of fusion.Though there are several reasons that there is not an operating cold fusion power plant. The first is because fusion does not occur naturally on earth and it is very hard to control. This is because these nuclei naturally repeal each other and fusion is the bonding of two separate nuclei. It is also extremely hard to create the environment needed for fusion because of the extreme temperatures needed for the process. While cold fusion is a different approach than regular fusion the fundamentals are the same. It is still the combination of two nuclei into one.Though there is a minuscule to nonexistent chance of cold fusion ever being able to be produced or have any cold fusion power plants, there is talk that nuclear fusion power plants could become a thing in the next 50 years. Cold fusion is a great idea because it would create no radioactive waste and would be able to be done in normal temperatures, but this is not somethingthat will ever be realistically accomplished. Part B: News Article- Find and read an article on physics or technology from some serious website. Give link to the article, and summarize the article, drawing connections to class and/or explaining what you do not understand about the article.Recently at Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden, a new way to make more efficient catalysts while being environmentally friendlier than the were before has been discovered. A catalyst is a type of material that speeds up chemical reactions. Catalysts are used everywhere in everyday life for example, catalytic converters in cars. They are used in almost all of the manufacturing of chemicals and fuels as well. This study was able to see where and how atoms are organized in the structure. By doing this they are able to improve the accuracy and precision, which in the end improves the overall catalytic performance. This new discovery is notjust limited to specific materials but this theory is based off of general principles and can be applied to different catalytic systems. This article has been very interesting and I have been able to understand most of it. The one question I do have/ connection I am trying to make wondering if this this principle that is also used for helping digestion in the body. For example, when one person is not able to digest a certain type of food, they take a pill to help with digestion. It would make sense that this pill, a catalyst, would target a specific food particle in the body to helpspeed up the process of digestion. I found it very interesting that this approach can be used for more than just your everyday scientific process. Part A:Siegel, Ethan. “Is Cold Fusion Feasible? Or Is It A Fraud?” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 23 Sept. 2016, www.forbes.com/sites/startswithabang/2016/09/23/is-cold-fusion-feasible-or-is-it-a-fraud/#91577487a050.Part B: Chalmers University of Technology. "Understanding catalysts at the atomic level can provide a cleaner environment." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 10 October 2018.
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