Thermonuclear fusion can be induced by shooting of high energy laser beams at a fuel pellet target containing tritium and deuterium fuel for the reaction to occur.
The impact of the high energy beam is what causes the shockwaves to travel through the fuel pellet target, heating and compressing it to induce fusion reactions.
To achieve fusion, the fuel has to be heated to extreme temperatures and as high as 15 million degrees C such as in the center of the Sun.
On Earth the most efficient reaction is that between 2 types of hydrogen which is tritium and deuterium, which only fuse at temperatures over 100 million degrees Celsius.
The difference between thermonuclear and nuclear is that thermonuclear specifically refers to the nuclear fusion reactions which occur at extremely high temperatures such as the extremely high temperatures found in the sun and stars.
Nuclear is what refers to reactions where the nucleus of an atom splits "fission", or combines, "fusion", releasing energy.
Both nuclear and thermonuclear relate to reactions that involve atomic nuclei but they involve different processes.
Thermonuclear is in essence the same as fusion but thermonuclear is a specific type of nuclear fusion.
Thermonuclear fusion is what refers to nuclear fusion that occurs at extremely high temperatures which is often in the millions of degrees Celsius or F temperatures.
Thermonuclear reactions are in essence fusion reactions which rely on thermal energy or heat to overcome the electrostatic repulsion between the atomic nuclei and enable them to fuse.
The meaning of thermonuclear fusion is, thermonuclear fusion is a nuclear reaction in which 2 light atomic nuclei combine to form a heavier nucleus, which releases a tremendous amount of energy.
The process of thermonuclear fusion often requires extremely high temperatures and often in the millions of degrees F and Celsius in order to overcome the electrostatic repulsion that occurs between the positively charged nuclei.
The Sun as well as other stars are also powered by thermonuclear fusion.
The process of thermonuclear fusion involves extremely high temperatures, plasma state, fusion process and energy release.
The extremely high temperatures provide the nuclei with the needed sufficient kinetic energy to be able to collide with enough force to fuse together.
At these extremely high temperatures, the matter exists as plasma, which is a state where the atoms are stripped of their electrons, which creates a mix of free ions and electrons.
And when the nuclei get close enough, the strong nuclear force then overcomes the electrostatic repulsion which causes them to fuse.
This fusion then results in a more stable nucleus with a slightly lower mass than the original nuclei.
And the missing mass is then converted into a large amount of energy, which is also described by Einstein's famous equation of E=mc2.
The most common fusion reactions involve isotopes of hydrogen such as deuterium and tritium, which fuse to form helium.
And thermonuclear fusion is also the power source of stars and is also being researched for potentially being used in fusion power plants to offer a clean and potentially limitless source of energy.