The future of clean energy? How nuclear fusion works

The Department of Energy announced a scientific breakthrough in nuclear fusion this week, marking a major step toward developing a new, sustainable form of energy that releases virtually no carbon dioxide or other types of air pollution.Here’s a look at exactly how that reaction works according to the U.S. Department of Energy and the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory:Nuclear Fusion ExplainerABC News Photo Illustration, Energy.gov, Lawrence Livermore National LaboratoryThe reaction itself was done on Dec. 5 at the National Ignition Facility, the world’s largest laser system at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Scientists at the lab successfully generated a fusion reaction between two hydrogen atoms and maintained that reaction in a controlled setting, marking the potential to use such reactions to generate huge amounts of energy without burning fuels.Nuclear Fusion…

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