Nuclear Fusion
Nuclear fusion is the process by which two light atomic nuclei combine to form one heavier atomic nucleus. As an example, a proton (the nucleus of a hydrogen atom) and a neutron will, under the proper circumstances, combine to form a deuteron (the nucleus of an atom of "heavy" hydrogen). In general, the mass of the heavier product nucleus is less than the total mass of the two lighter nuclei. Nuclear fusion is the initial driving process for the process of nucelosynthesis.
When a proton and neutron combine, the mass of the resulting deuteron is 0.00239 atomic mass units (amu) less than the total mass of the proton and neutron combined. This "loss" of mass is expressed in the form of 2.23 MeV (million electron volts) of kinetic energy of the deuteron and other particles and as other forms of energy produced during the reaction. Nuclear fusion reactions are like nuclear fission reactions, therefore, in that some quantity of mass is transformed into energy. This is the reason stars "shine" (i.e., radiate tremendous amounts of electromagnetic energy into space).
The particles most commonly involved in nuclear fusion reactions include the proton, neutron, deuteron, a triton (a proton combined with two neutrons), a helium-3 nucleus (two protons combined with a neutron), and a helium-4 nucleus (two protons combined with two neutrons).
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