[email protected] wrote:
The mass differential between 2 Si-28 (27.9769) and Fe-56 at a.m. of 55.93494 is not very much. It may be that Si fusion is involved in the Indian steel plant.
Even though the mass is similar, the Coulomb barrier makes such a fusion reaction unrealistic -- even with an arc discharge.
On top of that - if silicon fusion somehow happened, there would be no net increase in mass, certainly not 4 tons per day. The gain in iron is more than offset by the loss of silicon. In fact, there would be a small net loss of mass.
Of course, to muddy the water -- there are folks who suggest that silica can fuse to hematite, at least on Mars.
http://www.everythingselectric.com/silicon-mars/
