Question

What nuclear reaction takes place in the sun?

Answer 1

• The nuclear reaction that takes place within the Sun, which is, for all intents and purposes, a giant nuclear fusion reactor, is the fusion of two isotopes of hydrogen, deuterium (`""_1^2 H`) and tritium (`""_1^3 H`), into a nucleus of helium-4 (`""_2^4 He`), containing two electrons, orbiting a nucleus of two protons, and two neutrons.

The reaction is as follows:

`""_1^2 H` + `""_1^3 H` `rarr` `""_2^4 He` + `""_0^1n`

• The temperatures required for nuclear fusion are too high to generate on Earth, so the only way of generating power through nuclear radiation is nuclear fission, which is the splitting of an atom into two smaller atoms and the ejection of a neutron. This causes a chain reaction, such as the one started with uranium-235 in fission reactors.