Nuclear Fusion

The understanding that fusion reactions might be responsible for energy production in stars brought the accompanying realization that such reactions might be a very useful source of energy for human needs. Imagine that it would be possible to build and operate a small star on the outskirts of your community that operated on nuclear fusion. That power plant would be able to supply all of the community's energy needs as far into the future as anyone could see.

The practical problems of building a fusion power plant are incredible, however, and scientists are still a long way from achieving that goal. A much simpler challenge, however, is to construct a "fusion power plant" that does not need to be controlled, that is, a fusion bomb.