We explain what fusion is both chemical and physical, examples and what the melting point is. Also, what is solidification.
What is fusion?
By the term fusion two different processes can be understood:
- Fusion (physical change). It's a change from the matter from solid state to liquid. It is equivalent to melting or melting: it consists of introducing heat (Energy) in a solid body, to cause its particles to begin to move with greater speed, thus losing their strong bonds and becoming a liquid. Understood in this way, this process can be the opposite of freezing or solidification.
- Nuclear fusion (chemical change). It is the union of two different atomic nuclei, generally light, by means of a exothermic reaction, which throws a element heavier as a result, and large amounts of ionizing radiation. It is the principle behind the hydrogen bomb, although it is not yet a technology that humanity has completely dominated, nor has been able to subdue to peaceful ends, such as the generation of electricity.
On the other hand, the term fusion has spread to many areas of everyday speech, in which fusion is spoken of as union: corporate fusion, for example, or cultural and gastronomic fusion, etc.
Melting point
It is known as the melting point or liquefaction at the temperature value at which a substance passes from a solid state to a liquid. This value varies according to the nature of the substance and is directly linked to the Pressure.
In theory, that temperature is the same as that corresponding to the freezing point or crystallization. For a body in a liquid state to freeze, it has to lose heat and lower its temperature to a value where it changes from a liquid to a solid state. On the other hand, for the same body under the same pressure conditions and in a solid state, to pass into the liquid, it has to gain heat and increase its temperature until it reaches the same previous value and thus, in this case, to pass into the liquid state. For example, both the melting point and the freezing point of water at atmospheric pressure is 0 ° C. This point is generally the same for melting and freezing, and can be altered by mixture of different substances.
Fusion examples
Some examples of fusion are:
- The melting of the ice cubes when we remove them from the freezer. The air around them gives heat to the ice and melts it.
- The smelting of heavy metals in industries steel mills. They are brought to the point where they soften and flow into a certain shape. They then cool and solidify again.
- The welds operate by melting a pair of metals by means of a blowtorch, so that they join two loose parts of something. As the welded part cools, it hardens and forges a strong, metal “patch”.
Fusion and solidification
Fusion and solidification are opposite physical processes, which take matter from solid to liquid, or from liquid to solid. This is because you add heat (that is, energy), allowing the particles of matter to move more freely.
On the contrary, solidification generally involves a delivery of heat (energy), causing the molecules lose speed and therefore have less capacity to movement. In the example of an ice cube melting (melting), the cooling and freezing of water is an example of solidification (by freezing).