What is the primary challenge in achieving controlled thermonuclear fusion?
**Energy release in nuclear processes** always because final BE/A higher than initial, mass defect difference appears as kinetic energy of fragments and radiation, 1 u =931.5 MeV, high temperature in fusion provides kinetic energy to overcome Coulomb barrier, confinement needed, Sun's core temperature ~1.5×10⁷ K enables fusion. Controlled thermonuclear fusion requires extremely high temperatures (e.g., 10⁸ K ), producing a plasma that no container can withstand, making confinement (e.g., using magnetic fields) a major challenge. Using E_n = -13.6/n² eV, r_n = n² a₀, L = n h/2π, R = R₀ A^¹/³, B
Ref: NCERT > Physics Book > Atoms and Nuclei > Nuclear Reactions - Fission, Fusion and Energy Release
