IB Physics SL E.5.3 Fusion Conditions

Practise explaining why fusion requires extremely high temperature and sufficient density or confinement time to overcome electrostatic repulsion and sustain collision rates.

Exam points

link high temperature to ion kinetic energy sufficient to approach through Coulomb repulsion
link high density or confinement time to a greater probability of successful nuclear collisions
explain why quantum tunnelling permits fusion below the classical Coulomb-barrier energy

[Maximum number: 2]

Star A is a main sequence star.

The data for Star A and the Sun are given in a table.

Table for Question E.5.3—Fusion conditions question 1 — IB Physics SL

Explain why nuclear fusion in the core of the star occurs when the temperature and density exceed threshold values.

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E.5.3—Fusion conditions question 1