STAR POWER.

LOOKING FORWARD GIVEN THIS VARIED LANDSCAPE of fusion projects, how close is practical fusion energy really? Nuclear fusion - the merging of light atomic nuclei - has the potential to produce energy with near-zero carbon emissions, without creating the dangerous radioactive waste associated with today's nuclear fission reactors, which split the very heavy nuclei of radioactive elements. Illustration by Mark Ross LAST DECEMBER PHYSICISTS WORKING ON FUSION CLAIMED A BREAKTHROUGH. As we look further out, though, there are good reasons to think fusion will be a key part of the energy economy in the second half of the century, when more developing countries will start requiring Westernsize energy budgets. [Extracted from the article]