Academic Review 2024

52 ST EDWARD’S, OXFORD 6 .

Fission vs Fusion Power

To what extent is nuclear fusion a better alternative to nuclear fission in producing energy and achieving economic growth in the UK? By Max Brosio Over time, the way in which humans produce energy has constantly evolved. With each new discovery, we have become better at harnessing energy from our planet. This has been the foundation to our development and economic growth as a global economy. Today, there are many ways we can produce energy; however, every method has negative side effects. These include the emission of greenhouse gases responsible for global warming, or simply the fact that resources are finite. These are issues of global scale that have been a significant recent concern.

Introduction

challenges to be faced and describes the dangers involved. The economics section uses the physics knowledge to evaluate the effects on the economy. Secondary data can be found for fission plants because they are in use in the UK. Nuclear fusion however has not ever been commercially used, meaning economic analysis will remain theoretical here. A primary source used to answer this question was an online book called Fusion Physics. I chose this source because it covered every aspect of fusion and explained exactly how it works. Most of the knowledge surrounding fusion in this essay comes from this book. After this I used the WNA (World Nuclear Association) website to research the economic aspects of fission. I then used this information to make a comparison between fusion and fission.

The search for the holy grail of clean energy production has gone on for a very long time, some say nuclear power is the answer. Although it would actually provide society with abundant clean energy, there is stigma surrounding nuclear power plants. A potential answer to the global issue may be the arrival of nuclear fusion. This is a new nuclear reactor, said to be four times more efficient than the nuclear plants we have today, however it has proved to be substantially more challenging to engineer. This essay uses knowledge from physics and economics to explore the advantages and disadvantages of both types of nuclear reactors: fission and fusion. The physics section explains the fundamental process behind each of these different reactors, presents the engineering