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Fast track to fusion energy

Nature volume 412, pages 775–776 (2001)Cite this article

Nuclear fusion could solve the world's energy problems, but its potential remains untapped. Can a new way to ignite a tiny ball of high-density fuel make the dream come true?

California's recent energy shortage has highlighted the potential fragility of the energy supply in a world of increasing economic activity. The reservoir of fossil fuels will eventually be exhausted, but even if it were limitless, global warming from CO2 emissions makes reliance on fossil fuels perilous. Energy sources with no CO2 emission are therefore important. One of the most attractive of these is nuclear fusion, but obtaining energy from this process has proved difficult. On page 798 of this issue Kodama et al.1 report the first demonstration of a new concept in fusion called fast ignition, which may offer a better path to fusion energy.

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Figure 1: The fast-ignition concept.

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  1. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, University of California, PO Box 808, Livermore, 94550, California, USA

    Michael H. Key

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  1. Michael H. Key
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Correspondence to Michael H. Key.

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Key, M. Fast track to fusion energy. Nature 412, 775–776 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1038/35090666

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