{"id":41349,"date":"2026-05-12T10:29:31","date_gmt":"2026-05-12T08:29:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rinconeducativo.org\/recursos-educativos\/combustible-fusion-mar-litio-energia-esconde-vaso-agua\/"},"modified":"2026-05-29T14:05:15","modified_gmt":"2026-05-29T12:05:15","slug":"fusion-fuel-sea-water-lithium-energy-hidden-glass-water","status":"publish","type":"re_recurso","link":"https:\/\/rinconeducativo.org\/en\/recursos-educativos\/fusion-fuel-sea-water-lithium-energy-hidden-glass-water\/","title":{"rendered":"Fusion Fuel: Sea Water and Lithium. The Energy Hidden in a Glass of Water"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The secret of nuclear fusion lies in fusing two isotopes of hydrogen: deuterium <\/strong>and tritium<\/strong>. But where do we get these elements from? Are they expensive? Will they run out like oil? The answer is that the ingredients for the stars\u2019 engine can be found in seawater and in our mobile phone batteries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Deuterium: A goldmine in seawater<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Deuterium is a stable and safe isotope. Best of all, it doesn\u2019t need to be produced: it occurs naturally alongside ordinary hydrogen in all the water on the planet (both fresh and salt water).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Roughly speaking, for every 6,500 atoms of ordinary hydrogen in water, there is one atom of deuterium. Although this may seem like a small proportion, there is so much water on Earth that the available deuterium is virtually unlimited. Separating it from water is a simple, well-established, and very cheap industrial process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lithium: The source of tritium<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The second ingredient is tritium. Unlike deuterium, tritium is a radioactive gas that decays rapidly, which is why it is almost non-existent in nature. So how do we obtain it? This is where lithium comes into play.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lithium is a light metal found in abundance in the Earth\u2019s crust (and in seawater) that we are very familiar with today because it is used to make batteries for electric cars and mobile phones. In future fusion reactors, the inner walls of the reactor will be coated with lithium. When the neutrons from the reaction strike this lithium, it will magically transform into the tritium the reactor needs to keep running.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The power of fusion: The glass of water rule<\/h2>\n\n\n
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\"Combustible<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

To explain why this fuel is set to change the world, scientists often use a striking comparison. If you combine the deuterium found in a glass of water with the lithium contained in a laptop battery<\/strong>, you get the same amount of energy as if you were to burn:<\/p>\n\n\n\n