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Tree-farmer2 t1_j5w9h0z wrote

Fusion is endothermic for elements larger than iron. At least for larger than iron elements, it'd be energy prohibitive.

As far as smaller elements go, you need increasing temperature as you go up the periodic table. Hydrogen fusion in the Sun requires ~15 million °C. When the Sun runs out of hydrogen, it will collapse until it's warmed to 100 million °C and then helium fusion will begin. Heavier elements than helium need even larger temperatures. Probably am engineering challenge.

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MrGate t1_j5wwt1a wrote

> m need even larger temperatures. Probably am engineering challenge.

im sure if we had long enough, say 10k years, or even 100k years to advance more, we could probably find ways to break the energy limits and highly optmize everything etc

it might not be the easiest way to get said elements. but ehh

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Tree-farmer2 t1_j5xdiny wrote

Good point.

These larger elements are created in supernovae and neutron star mergers when nuclei absorb a bunch of extra neutrons, some of which beta decay into protons, and voila you have larger elements than iron. Maybe we'll find that strategy is better than fusion for this purpose.

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