Question

The percentage efficiency of nuclear fission is _______ that of nuclear fusion.
(A) Higher
(B) Lower
(C) Same
(D) May be higher or lower

Answer 1

Hint :Nuclear fission is the splitting of an atom's nucleus into two or more smaller nuclei. Even by the intense standards of radioactive decay, the fission process frequently generates gamma rays and releases a considerable quantity of energy. Nuclear fusion occurs when two or more atomic nuclei unite to generate one or more new atomic nuclei and subatomic particles (neutrons or protons). The release or absorption of energy is caused by the mass differential between the reactants and products. The difference in mass between the nuclei before and after the reaction is due to a change in atomic binding energy.

Complete Step By Step Answer:
With the development of public concern over environmental issues such as global climate change and renewable energy, energy efficiency is receiving a lot of attention. You might be wondering what it means to be efficient in the nuclear power business. Nuclear power is already one of the most energy-efficient technologies accessible. By a large amount, a capacity factor of 91 percent outperforms alternative energy sources. Natural gas generates 50% of the energy, but coal generates about 59 percent. Wind power has a poor efficiency of 32 percent. Nuclear power has a variety of advantages for consumers, the most important of which is its great efficiency. Both are nuclear processes in the sense that they use nuclear forces to alter atom nuclei. Chemical processes, on the other hand, rely mostly on electromagnetic force to alter atoms' electronic structure. Fusion connects two light elements (with a low atomic mass number) to generate a heavier element, whereas fission breaks a heavy element (with a high atomic mass number) into pieces. Because the mass of the surviving nucleus is lower than the mass of the reacting nuclei in both circumstances, energy is released. The binding energy per nucleon curve can be used to understand why opposing activities release energy. Fusion devices currently produce more than 10 megawatts of fusion energy
Hence option B is correct.

Note :
ITER will have the capacity to generate 500 megawatts of fusion energy. Although this will be on the size required for a power plant, numerous technological challenges must be resolved before a commercial power plant can be built. By 2040, a fusion reactor prototype (DEMO) is scheduled to be developed. Depending on finance and technological improvement, electricity generation and exploitation are also predicted to take place in the second part of the century.