Everyone knows about nuclear energy, one of the major energy breakthroughs in the twentieth century. It is a relatively clean source of energy that does not release any noxious gases into the air. Although it does create a  lot of nuclear waste, it is still much cleaner than coal power plants. What if I told you that there is a new revelation in the nuclear energy industry, one that could fulfill all of our energy needs while being sustainable.

This revelation is that of Nuclear Fusion.  It involvesFusing atoms together in a controlled way. This results in the release of  more than 4,000,000 times more energy than the standard process of burning coal, oil or gas and a 400 % increase from nuclear fission reactions (at equal mass). Fusion is so revolutionary that it may be able to provide the kind of threshold energy required to provide electricity to our whole cities and industries.

A major advantage of Nuclear Fusion is that it is highly sustainable.  Its fuels are nearly inexhaustible and available in plenty. Deuterium, an isotope of hydrogen,  can be produced from all forms of water, while tritium will be produced during the fusion reaction as fusion neutrons interact with lithium. Land reserves of lithium will allow  fusion plants to function  for more than 1,000 years, while sea-based reserves of lithium would fulfil needs for millions of years.

 Fusion also doesn't release harmful greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Its only major by-product is helium, which is an inert, non-toxic gas.

The energy requirements of the coming years will only be able to be fulfilled by a variety of generation methods instead of a dominating dependence on one source. As a new source of carbon-free electricity, responsible for no nuclear waste, fusionis destined to make a positive contribution to the challenges of resource scarcity, global warming, and waste disposal.