Nuclear Power

Many scientists believe that the ultimate solution to the world's energy problems may be in the harnessing of nuclear fusion. A fusion reaction is one in which two small atomic nuclei combine with each other to form one larger nucleus. For example, two hydrogen nuclei may combine with each other to form the nucleus of an atom known as deuterium, or heavy hydrogen. Fusion reactions are responsible for the production of energy in stars. Most commonly, four hydrogen atoms fuse in a series of reactions to form a single helium atom. An important byproduct of these reactions is the release of an enormous amount of energy. By weight, a fusion reaction releases many times more energy than does a fission reaction.

The world was introduced to the concept of fusion reactions in the 1950s when first the United States and then the Soviet Union exploded fusion (hydrogen) bombs. The energy released in the explosion of each such bomb was more than 1,000 times greater than the energy released in the explosion of a single fission bomb such as that used by the U.S. to destroy the city of Hiroshima.

As with fission, scientists and nonscientists alike expressed hope that fusion reactions could someday be harnessed as a source of energy for everyday needs. This line of research has been much less successful, however, than research on fission power plants. In essence, the problem has been to find a way of producing, in a controlled, sustainable fashion, the very high temperatures (millions of degrees Celsius) needed to sustain fusion. Optimistic reports of progress on a fusion power plant appear in the press from time to time, but some authorities now doubt that fusion power will ever be an economic reality.