The United States technological organization Lockheed Martin says it will produce a working fusion nuclear reactor within five years. Lockheed Martin says it may have an operating prototype by 2017, and a version for sale by 2022. Fusion involves forcing together atomic nuclei.
But the Lockheed Martin announcement has met with disbelief. Critics say nuclear fusion as a power source that can be sustained over time will not be developed anytime soon. But they also say that once the process is ready, it will be as huge a development as the discovery of electricity. Whenever it arrives, nuclear fusion promises to be the future source of cheap and safe energy.
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There is also the problem of what to do with still dangerous spent, or used up, fuel. Also, the fusion plants can be used for building nuclear weapons.
Fusion provides a much safer way to use nuclear power for creating electricity. But it is much more difficult to do this process, which is the opposite of fission. Both the U.S. and European Union have been experimenting with fusion reactors. They say they do not expect them to operate for many years.
Full article: Is a Fusion Nuclear Reactor Coming Soon? (Voice of America)
Global Geopolitics 