Nuclear fusion

In nuclear fusion, two or more light atomic nuclei come together to form a heavier nucleus. This is called nuclear fusion.

Nuclear fusion is more difficult to achieve than fission because the atoms have to be brought so close to each other that they fuse. For this to happen, the material must be at a very high temperature (around 100 million degrees), and under very high pressure. The energy released by this phenomenon is 10 times greater than in fission.

Furthermore, nuclear fusion does not produce radioactive waste, the fusion products being stable. The energy of stars comes from cycles of nuclear fusion reactions. Fusion was also used in the thermonuclear bomb (the H bomb) for which A bombs were used as initiators, since their explosion enables the temperatures necessary for fusion to be reached.