Scientists at Princeton University's Plasma Physics Laboratory conducted breakthrough tests Dec. 10 using "fusion" to generate electricity.
In the most successful test, the flash of hydrogen isotopes produced 5.3 million watts of electricity.
The tests marked a dramatic jump in the ability of scientists to produce power through fusion. While the process still generated less than half the energy needed to produce it, scientists said a break-even point is not far in the future.
It is hoped that one day fusion will be an abundant source of clean, low-cost energy.
Unlike nuclear fission, which results in radioactive waste, fusion generates power with almost no harmful waste products. It is the same process that fires the sun. During the tests, deuterium and tritium were injected into a plasma stream to produce electricity. The temperature of the plasma, a gas consisting of charged particles that conduct electricity, exceeded the heat of the sun during the tests.
