Question 1 Deuterium-Tritium Fusion Reaction

Given: energy released = 17.59 MeV per deuterium/tritium reaction pair (mass = 5 amu)

Part A

List the balanced nuclear reaction.

Part B

Determine the energy released per kilogram of fuel used.

Given MeV per reaction, calculate energy in joules per kilogram of reactants.

Consider 1 mole of tritium plus 1 mole of deuterium to be a mole of “reactions” (total molar mass = 5 grams).
Part C
Determine the mass of fuel required for the expected energy consumption in the United States for the next 10 years.

Energy use per person per year in the United States = 3.5 × 1011 joules.
Base your calculations on a current population of 310,000,000.