There’s been tremendous excitement about recent results from the Joint European Torus (JET) facility in the UK, hinting that the dream of nuclear fusion power is inching closer to reality. We know that fusion works – it is the process that powers the Sun, providing heat and light to the Earth. But for decades it has proved difficult to make the transition from scientific laboratory experiments to sustained power production.
The fundamental aim of fusion is to bring atomic nuclei merging together to create a different, heavier nucleus – releasing energy in the process. This is different to nuclear fission, in which a heavy nucleus such as uranium is split into smaller ones while also releasing energy.
