College Physics 10th Edition by Raymond Serway,Chris Vuille

Exercise 4

The fusion reaction releases 3.27 MeV of energy. If a fusion reactor operates strictly on the basis of this reaction, (a) how much energy could it produce by completely reacting 1 kg of deuterium (b) At eight cents a kilowatt-hour, how much would the produced energy be worth (c) Heavy water (D 2 O) costs about $300 per kilogram. Neglecting the cost of separating the deuterium from the oxygen via electrolysis, how much does 1 kg of deuterium cost, if derived from D 2 O (d) Would it be cost-effective to use deuterium as a source of energy Discuss, assuming the cost of energy production is nine-tenths the value of energy produced