Physics

Problem

Coal releases roughly

3.0\times10^{7}\,\text{J}

per kilogram when burnt. Estimate by what factor the energy obtainable from

1\,\text{kg}

of an equal-mass deuterium–tritium mixture (D–T) exceeds that of coal, given

17.6\,\text{MeV}

per D–T fusion event and Avogadro’s number

6.02\times10^{23}\,\text{mol}^{-1}

. (Atomic mass numbers: D

=2

, T

=3

.) a) approximately

10^{4}

times b) approximately

10^{7}

times c) approximately

10^{6}

times d) approximately

10^{9}

times