In a fusion reaction, the nuclei of two atoms join to form a single atom of a di

Question

In a fusion reaction, the nuclei of two atoms join to form a single atom of a different element. In such a reaction, a fraction of the rest energy of the original atoms is converted to kinetic energy of the reaction products. A fusion reaction that occurs in the Sun converts hydrogen to helium. Since electrons are not involved in the reaction, we focus on the nuclei.

Hydrogen and deuterium (heavy hydrogen) can react to form helium plus a high-energy photon called a gamma ray:

Objects involved in the reaction:

Although in most problems you solve in this course you should use values of constants rounded to 2 or 3 significant figures,in this problem you must keep at least 5 significant figures throughout your calculation. Problems involving mass changes require many significant figures because the changes in mass are small compared to the total mass. In this problem you must use the following values of constants, accurate to 5 significant figures:

Particle # of protons # of neutrons Charge Rest Mass (atomic mass units) 1H (proton) 1 0 +e 1.0073 2H (deuterium) 1 1 +e 2.0136 3He (helium) 2 1 +2e 3.0155 gamma ray 0 0 0 0

Explanation / Answer

For the first question, which I got right:

Ef=Ei+W

Ef=Ei+Ui?Uf

Ef+Uf=Ei+Ui

K1,f+K2,f+m1c2+m2c2+Uf=K1,i+K2,i+m1c2+m2c2+Ui

K1,f+K2,f+Uf=K1,i+K2,i+Ui

The particles start out 'far apart' so Ui = 0

K1,f+K2,f=K1,i+K2,i?Uf

=2.77

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