How does nuclear fusion work? What's the chemical formula?
by 
Conformist
ANSWERS: 3
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Fusion is not chemical. As its name implies, it at the next level down from chemistry, the nuclear level. Chemistry conserves nuclei, and just moves electrons around. Fusion involves fusing two nuclei into one. The simplest version of fusion joins two heavy isotopes of Hydrogen: one of Deuterium (Hydrogen2) and one of Tritium (Hydrogen 3). This produces a single nucleus of ordinary Helium (Helium4) and a spare neutron. So the formula could be written: H(2) + H(3) -> He(4) + n A lot of energy is released, mostly carried away by the neutron.
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You've put this in the 'Sun' section so here's the fusion reaction for the sun. 4H= He (+ 2 neutrinos and 6 gamma rays) E=mc^2 m(H) = 1.0078 g/mol m(He) = 4.0026 g/mol change in mass for each mole of He produced is: (4 x 1.0078) - 4.0026 = 4.0312 - 4.0026 = 0.0286 g and c= 2.998 x 10^8 E=mc^2 = 0.0286 x 2.998 x 10^8 = 8,574,280 Joules per mole of He produced.
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It's the opposite of nuclear fission. Two lighter nuclei are brought together to form a heavier one, energy being released as part of the process. There is no chemical formula as it is a nuclear reaction. It usually involves Helium, Hydrogen or Lithium isotopes. +5
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