Scientists at the Lawrence Livermore Lab produced a nuclear fusion reaction resulting in a net energy gain. I’m a humanities major so my first reaction to fusion is usually confusion, but this appears to be a really big deal (I can tell by the font size used in the headlines). “The result of the experiment is a massive step in a decadeslong quest to unleash an infinite source of clean energy that could help end dependence on fossil fuels. Researchers have for decades attempted to recreate nuclear fusion – replicating the fusion that powers the sun.” (Replicating the energy of the sun probably looks pretty impressive on a resumé. Or a Tinder bio.) And we’re talking about nuclear fusion not fission, which generates radioactive waste. “Nuclear fusion happens when two or more atoms are fused into one larger one, a process that generates a massive amount of energy as heat.” CNN: US scientists reach long-awaited nuclear fusion breakthrough. Half of America is opposed to fusion because it contains the word nuclear and half of America is opposed to fusion because it wasn’t discovered on Hunter Biden’s laptop.

+ CBS News: What is nuclear fusion? Harnessing the power of the sun to create clean energy.

+ To be clear, we’re talking about a tiny amount of energy. But it’s a start. Quartz: A US lab’s nuclear fusion breakthrough could transform clean energy. “The experiment, conducted within the last two weeks, has generated about 2.5 megajoules of energy, 120% more than the 2.1 megajoules put into creating it. The excess energy generated isn’t much, underscoring that it could take decades more before nuclear fusion begins to fuel power plants. However, the shift from net-negative energy generation to net-positive is a result that has eluded scientists for decades and represents a potential turning point in developing this form of alternative energy.”