NEETPhysicsNuclear Physics
Assertion (A): Nuclear fusion reaction takes place only at extremely high temperatures. Reason (R): At extremely high temperatures, atoms and molecules acquire sufficiently high kinetic energy to overcome the electrostatic force due to each other.
Options
- ABoth A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A.
- BBoth (A ) and (R ) are true, but (R ) is not the correct explanation of (A ).
- CA is true, but R is false.
- DA is false, but R is true.
Correct answer
A. Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A.
Step-by-step solution
The correct option is (A). Nuclear fusion requires extremely high temperatures because the reacting nuclei are positively charged and repel each other due to electrostatic forces. At very high temperatures, the kinetic energy of the nuclei becomes large enough to overcome this repulsion, allowing them to get close enough for the strong nuclear force to bind them together, leading to fusion.