Difference Between Nuclear Fission and Fusion

Nuclear Fission and Fusion

To produce energy, there are different types of nuclear reactions called nuclear fission and nuclear fusion that releases energy owing to the existence of atomic bonds with power with a higher level among particles that could be traced in a nucleus. In the case of nuclear fission, an atom is divided into smaller or lighter atoms numbering two or more. In comparison, fusion happens when small atoms (two or more) joins or fuse together to form a large or heavy atom.

Fusion is the nuclear reaction which occurs in the sun where the atoms of(isotopes of hydrogen, Hydrogen-3 and Hydrogen-2 ) Deuterium and Tritium combine in a huge pressure atmosphere with extremely high temperature to produce an output in the form of a neutron and an isotope of Helium. Also the Amount of energy released in fusion is way greater than the energy produced by fission. The difference between these two reactions are listed in the table provided below:

Basis	Nuclear Fission	Nuclear Fusion
Definition	Fission would be defined as the division of single atom into multiple atoms of small size.	Fusion would be defined as the joining of two or more small atoms to form a large atom.
Necessity of Energy	Requires less energy to divide atoms to two or more ones.	Huge amount of energy required to combine small atoms to form a large atom.
Release of Energy	The amount of energy released in fission is much lower than energy released in fusion.	The release of energy in fusion is way higher than that of fission reaction.
Production/Usage of energy	Used to produce energy in nuclear power plants.	The technology is used for experiments in power plants.
Natural Reactions	Never occurs in nature in normal cases.	Happens in natural forces like stars and sun.
Ideal Conditions	There is a necessity to have critical mass of the substance and neutrons with high speed.	Requires high density and high temperature atmosphere.
Reaction Outcome	The fission reaction produces highly radioactive substances.	Very few radioactive chemicals comes out of this reaction.
Fuel Used	Uranium is one of the primary fuels in nuclear power plants.	Hydrogen isotopes are used as fuel in experimental plants.

The table above would have given you a clear idea about how the two terms nuclear fission and fusion varies from one another. For further articles on interesting topics like this visit Byju’s.com