Green Energy – Fission Vs. Fusion

There are two “green” energy sources that are forerunners for the planet Earth. One is fission and the other is fusion. Both require a nuclear reaction and both have the potential to produce vast amounts of clean energy, however, both also have drawbacks that make them controversial energy sources.

Fission Energy

Fission energy is already being used as an energy source for large cities around the globe. Fission energy, more commonly referred to as nuclear energy, creates energy by producing a nuclear chain reaction. This reaction starts with Uranium 236, which is less stable than Uranium 238. To start the reaction a free neutrons are introduced to the Uranium. The Uranium 236 is heavy and slow moving, however, as it absorbs the free neutron the element splits into three parts. It splits into the faster moving elements of Ba141 and Kr92, and it also releases three free neutrons. These neutrons are in turn absorbed by other molecules of Uranium 238 and another split occurs, thus creating a chain reaction. This chain reaction produces a large amount of energy that can be harnessed to produce electricity.

Obviously the main attraction of fission energy is that it can produce a large amount of energy using only a small amount of fuel. Furthermore, the fuel used to power nuclear energy, Uranium, is easy to find in the Earth’s crust and it is easy to access. However, on the flip side, fission energy is unstable, it has the potential to produce catastrophic disasters and it produces nuclear waste that has a half life of 4.5 billion years.

Fusion Energy

The unstable and hazardous nature of fission energy makes it a less than desirable green energy option. However, there is another nuclear reaction that can produce huge amounts of energy using very cheap and easy to find fuels. This green energy is called fusion energy. It is generated by fusing atomic particles together, as opposed to splitting them apart as in fission energy.

The advantages of fusion energy are that it produces less nuclear waste than fission energy, its nuclear waste only has a half life of 100 years, it uses cheap fuels (Tritium and Deuterium), and it doesn’t produce any greenhouse gases. Unfortunately, while fusion energy does offer a great solution for cheap and sustainable energy, right now we don’t have the technology to produce a fusion reaction here on earth. Scientists from around the world are working together to produce a fusion reactor and progress is being made. However, there are concerns that manmade fusion reactors will use more energy than they produce. This is just one problem that still needs to be ironed out before fusion energy is a viable green energy option.