The BBC reports that US scientists have announced a major breakthrough in nuclear fusion, claiming that more energy can be produced than what was put in. Nuclear fusion, unlike nuclear fission – which is now a well-understood and regularly used technology – requires very high temperatures and pressures, which consumes a lot of energy.
Fission tears two heavy atoms apart to release energy, but it also produces dangerous radioactive nuclear waste. Fusion, on the other hand, uses very high temperatures and pressure to force light atoms together, thereby producing large amounts of energy without any waste.
These American scientists claim that they may have found a way to produce the required high temperature and pressure in a more efficient way, making nuclear fusion a more practical way of producing clean energy.
This is of great interest to the world’s scientific community which is focusing on trying to keep the Earth’s atmospheric temperature under control to combat climate change which results in devastating floods, droughts, and other severe climatic conditions.
Therefore, any technology which could offer clean, constant energy to power industry, commerce, and our homes is of great interest.
