A Tokyo-based company called Helical Fusion is set to launch a first-of-its-kind steady-state nuclear fusion reactor, Interesting Engineering reported. It would be considered a "pilot" reactor, but if successful, the project could have major implications for the future of clean energy.
Existing nuclear reactors work by creating energy using fission — the nuclear reaction where atoms are split apart. However, scientists have long sought to create a nuclear reactor that harnesses the power of fusion, where two atoms slam together.
A fusion reactor would mimic the same process that powers the sun and could theoretically produce virtually unlimited clean, renewable energy. Fusion also doesn't produce the same radioactive byproducts that fission does, making it safer overall.
Existing nuclear reactors work by creating energy using fission — the nuclear reaction where atoms are split apart. However, scientists have long sought to create a nuclear reactor that harnesses the power of fusion, where two atoms slam together.
A fusion reactor would mimic the same process that powers the sun and could theoretically produce virtually unlimited clean, renewable energy. Fusion also doesn't produce the same radioactive byproducts that fission does, making it safer overall.
