The deuterium–deuterium (D–D) fusion reaction is a nuclear reaction between two deuterium isotopes. One common branch of this reaction is:
12H+12H→13H+11p{}_1^2\text{H} + {}_1^2\text{H} \rightarrow {}_1^3\text{H} + {}_1^1\text{p}12H+12H→13H+11pThe energy from this reaction is transferred to the kinetic energy of the tritium nucleus (13H{}_1^3\text{H}13H) and the proton (11p{}_1^1\text{p}11p). Assume that the kinetic energies of the reactant deuterium nuclei are zero just before the reaction occurs.
Show that the kinetic energy of the proton represents approximately 75%75\%75% of the total energy transferred, assuming the mass of the tritium nucleus is three times the mass of the proton.
The combined kinetic energy of the tritium nucleus and the proton is 6.45×10−13 J6.45 \times 10^{-13}\text{ J}6.45×10−13 J. Calculate the initial speed of the proton. (Take the mass of a proton to be 1.67×10−27 kg1.67 \times 10^{-27}\text{ kg}1.67×10−27 kg.)
