Nuclear Fusion
What is nuclear fusion?
Nuclear fusion is the process where two light atomic nuclei combine to form a single, heavier nucleus, releasing a significant amount of energy.
What is the atomic number?
The number of protons in an atom's nucleus determines this number.
What is the Sun's core?
This central region of the Sun is where nuclear fusion takes place, converting hydrogen into helium.
Nucleus
The dense, positively charged center of an atom containing protons and neutrons.
What are the three subatomic particles that make up an atom?
Protons, neutrons, and electrons.
What is deuterium?
The primary isotope of hydrogen that serves as a fuel in most fusion reactions, found abundantly in water.
What are electrons?
These particles are found orbiting the nucleus and have a negative charge.
What is the photosphere?
This is the visible surface of the Sun, from which most of its energy escapes into space.
Atom
The smallest unit of an element that retains the chemical properties of that element.
What charge does a proton have?
A positive charge.
What is plasma?
In nuclear fusion, plasma is a state of matter created by heating a fuel gas
What are isotopes?
Atoms of the same element with different numbers of neutrons are called these.
What are hydrogen and helium?
The Sun is primarily composed of these two light elements.
Atomic Number
The number of protons in the nucleus, which uniquely identifies an element.
Where are negatively charged particles found within an atom?
Orbiting the nucleus.
What is helium?
In the sun's proton-proton chain reaction, hydrogen nuclei fuse to form this element.
What are protons, neutrons, and electrons?
Atoms are primarily composed of these three subatomic particles.
What is the radiative zone?
After leaving the core, energy travels outward through this zone via radiation.
Mass Number
The total number of protons and neutrons in an atom's nucleus.
Which subatomic particle has no charge?
The neutron.
What is a neutron?
While fusion requires extremely high temperatures and pressures, this particle is used to start a chain reaction in a fission reactor.
What is the mass number?
To find the number of neutrons in an isotope, you subtract the atomic number from this number.
What is the chromosphere?
This turbulent, middle layer of the Sun's atmosphere is a region of great activity, often seen during eclipses.
Ion
An atom or molecule with a net electric charge due to the loss or gain of one or more electrons
What does the atomic number of an element represent?
The number of protons.