Word: neutrons
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...type of atom most common in fusion reactions is a form of hydrogen called deuterium. Although most hydrogen nuclei consist of just a positively charged proton, deuterium also contains an uncharged particle called a neutron...
Scientists theorize that conventional fusion yields one of two products: a helium nucleus consisting of two protons and one neutron and a high-energy neutron; or a radioactive form of hydrogen made up of two neutrons and a proton and a hydrogen...
Meanwhile, scientists at the National Agency for Nuclear and Alternative Energy in Italy have found neutron emissions up to 100 times the normal background level in a high-pressure apparatus that used no electrical current...
Despite the high neutron yields, the Italian researchers say they had found no heat...
Nuclear fusion, the process that fires the sun, usually occurs when two atoms are squeezed together at very high temperatures to make one new atom. For example, two atoms of deuterium -- an isotope of hydrogen -- can be fused to form a helium atom and a neutron, releasing a sizable burst of energy. But before that can occur, deuterium nuclei generally need to be compressed with sufficient force to overcome their mutually repellent electrical charges. In H-bombs, that force is supplied by the detonation of an A-bomb. Conventional fusion techniques require giant magnets, powerful laser beams and particle accelerators...