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Nuclear Radius

Q1. When a deuterium nucleus and a tritium nucleus overcome their Coulomb barrier and fuse together they may be considered as charged spheres in contact.

The constant r0 which relates the nuclear radius, R, to the cube root of the mass number A may be assumed to be 1.3 fm.

(a)

(i) Calculate the radius of the deuterium nucleus RD and the radius of the tritium nucleus RT before fusion.

(ii) Calculate the minimum energy, in MeV, which must be supplied to the deuterium nucleus and the tritium nucleus when they fuse together.

(5 marks)

(b) Estimate the temperature at which deuterium and tritium nuclei would have enough kinetic energy to undergo fusion.

(3 marks)

(Total 8 marks)