For decades, the “next big thing” in terms of energy has always been nuclear fusion. In terms of sheer potential for power generation, no other energy source is as clean, low-carbon, low-risk, low-waste, sustainable, and controllable as nuclear fusion. Unlike oil, coal, natural gas, or other fossil fuel sources, nuclear fusion won’t produce any greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide as waste. Unlike solar, wind, or hydroelectric power, it’s not reliant on the availability of the needed natural resource. And unlike nuclear fission, there’s no risk of a meltdown and no long-term radioactive waste produced.
Compared to all other alternatives, nuclear fusion is clearly the optimal solution for generating power on Earth. The biggest problem, however, has always been this: even though nuclear fusion reactions have been achieved by a variety of means, there’s never been a sustained fusion reaction that’s achieved what’s known as either:
- ignition,
- net energy gain,
- or the breakeven point,
where more energy is produced in a fusion reaction than was used to ignite it. For the first time in history, that milestone has now been achieved. The National Ignition Facility (NIF) has reached ignition, a tremendous step toward commercial nuclear fusion. But that doesn’t mean we’ve solved our energy needs; far from it. Here’s the truth of how it’s truly a remarkable achievement, but there’s still a long way to go.
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