Nuclear Fusion in Stars
Stars are powered by nuclear fusion in their cores, mostly converting hydrogen into helium
In nuclear fusion, you get energy when two atoms join together to form one.
In a fusion reactor, hydrogen atoms come together to form helium atoms, neutrons and vast amounts of energy. It's the same type of reaction that powers hydrogen bombs and the sun. This would be a cleaner, safer, more efficient and more abundant source of power than nuclear fission.
There are several types of fusion reactions. Most involve the isotopes of hydrogen called deuterium and tritium.To achieve fusion you need to create special conditions to overcome this tendency. Here are the conditions that make fusion possible:
High temperature – The high temperature gives the hydrogen atoms enough energy to overcome the electrical repulsion between the protons.
High pressure – Pressure squeezes the hydrogen atoms together. They must be within 1 × 10–15 meters of each other to fuse.
Fusion reactors will not produce high–level nuclear wastes like their fission counterparts, so disposal will be less of a problem.