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Originally Posted by paulyoung
so if fusion is the way to go , is it clean and safe or cleaner and safer ?????? , i must admit to have not looked into it but sitting next to earth's version of the sun could be well interesting couldnt it
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We do not have the technology to make fusion a feasable source of energy. You're probably thinking of fission.
Fusion is the fusing of two hydrogen (deuterium, which is hydrogen with an extra neutron) atoms to get helium and energy. We can do it, but it requires high temperatures and pressure. The amount of energy put into the system is more than we get out of it, so that isn't really good.
Fission is the splitting of uranium or other fissionable materials by bombarding it with a neutron. The neutron splits the atom into two parts, some neutrons, and some energy. The neutrons released bombard other atoms, and the process continues.