A breakdown of nuclear fusion and what is impeding this near-limitless clean-energy resource

The first nuclear reactor was built three years after nuclear fission was discovered

After learning that large atomic nuclei release energy upon being split apart, scientists quickly researched how to control the reaction to make electricity. Fusion—combining small atomic nuclei—generates massive energy in stars and hydrogen bombs.

Visualize what happens to atoms during nuclear fission and how the process produces energy

Nuclear fission occurs when an unstable, often massive, atomic nucleus splits into smaller ones—daughter atoms—and releases energy. Within a nuclear reactor, these daughter atoms can collide and combine with neighboring atoms, destabilizing them and triggering a chain reaction of atomic splitting.

A laser energy system has allowed scientists to achieve fusion ignition

In 2022, scientists used lasers to create a powerful implosion that bound hydrogen isotopes together, releasing more energy than was input into the system. Research is ongoing to achieve this self-sustaining reaction with larger yields and energy gains.

Nuclear weapons release energy through rapid atomic reactions

Nuclear weapons work by unleashing energy from atomic fission—or fusion—reactions. In fission bombs, a critical mass triggers a runaway chain reaction in milliseconds. This video explains the basic science behind their immense explosive power.

What fuels the sun?

The sun is our biggest source of heat and light, but how does this massive powerhouse continue to produce such amazing energy? Basically, it's a fusion reactor. At its core the sun produces all that solar energy through hydrogen fusing and converting into helium, over and over again. Learn more about the entire amazing and explosive process here.

The formation of a neutron star through a core collapse lasts one-tenth of a second

Massive stars keep fusing heavier and heavier elements in their cores to produce energy that pushes against the weight of the star itself. However, the fusion of silicon into iron consumes energy and initiates a feedback loop that rapidly compresses the stellar core, creating neutrons and neutrinos from the combination of electrons and protons.

Fusion reactions and radioactive decay produce elements inside stars

Hydrogen, present since the early universe, serves as fuel for the proton-proton chain, producing helium, which is then incorporated into the CNO cycle to produce carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen. Additional fusions of helium with these elements and subsequent decays via the alpha ladder produce elements up to iron and bismuth.

Antimatter engines would have the greatest energy output of all machines

These devices would annihilate matter with antimatter, converting mass into pure energy. A teacup of fuel would release energy equivalent to that of a hydrogen bomb, but stabilizing and storing that much antimatter remains a challenging task. Alternatively, hybrid systems would utilize small amounts of antimatter to initiate nuclear reactions.

Nuclear-powered missiles replace chemical combustion with energy from nuclear fission

In these systems, energy is added to an airstream, which passes through a nozzle to generate thrust. Because the amount of energy released per unit mass of nuclear fuel is millions of times larger than that of chemical propellants, nuclear missiles can travel faster and farther with less fuel.

Uranium's ability to split easily makes it the most common catalyst for nuclear power

Uranium is commonly found in rocks, water, and soil worldwide, but significant industrial processes are needed to process and enrich it for efficient reactor usage. After being irradiated in reactors, it must be cooled down before disposal.

Nuclear power supplies almost half of US carbon-free energy

As of 2023, nearly 20% of US electricity comes from nuclear power, but most reactors were built from 1971 to 1990. Expansion slowed due to safety concerns, high costs, and competition from natural gas.

Why most atoms do not spontaneously break apart, despite protons repelling one another

At small scales, the strong nuclear force overwhelms electromagnetic repulsion between positively charged particles, keeping the nucleus intact. However, because the force's range is limited, it cannot provide the attraction needed to hold onto protons that are spread out across very large atomic nuclei.

Over a lifetime, the average American's nuclear power usage creates a hockey puck of nuclear waste

Spent nuclear fuel remains hot and highly radioactive for long periods, requiring submersion in cooling pools before being stored in dry casks and deep underground repositories. The potential recycling of nuclear waste is impeded by security concerns and dangerous reprocessing methods, particularly when obtaining fresh uranium is often easier.

Water acts as a coolant and a moderator of nuclear reactions in reactors

Nuclear reactions within a containment structure boil water into steam, which drives a turbine that generates electricity. This water is then recirculated via pumps back into the containment structure to repeat the process, with reaction rates lowered by the insertion of control rods that absorb neutrons, which trigger reactions.

Despite claims of limitless free energy, zero-point energy cannot be harnessed

Because quantum mechanics prevents systems from ever reaching an energy value of zero, a seemingly empty vacuum of space still contains some amount of energy associated with its lowest allowed state. Since descending to even lower states is forbidden, extracting meaningful amounts of energy from an empty vacuum is impossible.

AI's growing energy demands are driving tech companies to consider nuclear power

Big Tech has rebranded nuclear power as a green solution to address the strain on the grid from millions of people using power-hungry AI tools. As of mid-2025, generating one image uses as much electricity as charging the average smartphone, or leaving a household light bulb on for 87 consecutive days.

The continuous decay of radioactive elements regenerates geothermal energy reserves

Geothermal power is a renewable energy source derived from Earth's interior, where the core reaches temperatures exceeding 5,000 degrees Celsius (9,000 degrees Fahrenheit). These temperatures result from leftover energy from collisions during planetary formation, with radioactive decay in the core releasing additional energy that travels to the surface.

Explaining why solving the solar neutrino problem revealed that neutrinos could transform

Electron neutrinos are byproducts of the nuclear reactions within the sun's core. Based on the sun's energy output, scientists modeled reaction rates and predicted neutrino production, but the observed values were consistently one-third the predicted values. Experiments later showed that these neutrinos could change into other types on their way to Earth, causing the discrepancy.

Neutron stars, the remains of some massive stars after they explode in a supernova, are the densest directly observable objects in the universe.

Artificial photosynthesis turns CO₂ into sustainable fuel

Carbon conversion focuses on a central perplexing question: if carbon dioxide is a leading driver of climate change, and fossil fuels are made of carbon-based molecules, can we devise a way to convert CO₂ into useful alternatives efficiently? This video breaks down a potential pathway using artificial photosynthesis, which uses sunlight to convert CO₂ into fuel.

Isodope is the world's first nuclear energy influencer

Isabelle Boemeke, a Brazilian fashion model and social media personality, began promoting the benefits of nuclear electricity in 2015. She now debunks common objections to it through her TikTok persona Isodope—which has more than 34,000 followers.

While atoms are normally made of protons, neutrons, and electrons, exotic ones have been built with antimatter—alternate versions of normal matter that live for fractions of a second and are about a billion times as rare.

Batteries store energy in chemical bonds that can be turned into electricity

To achieve a more stable, nonreactive state, many elements in nature are reactive and will seek to lose electrons via oxidation or gain electrons through reduction reactions. By pairing an oxidizing chemical with a reducing chemical in a battery, electrons will naturally flow between them, producing an electric current.

Why decarbonizing the entire electric grid is impossible with its current infrastructure

Fossil fuel plants can be built anywhere and have thus typically been built near highly populated areas, such as coastal cities, where electricity demand is high. However, certain renewable resources operate most efficiently in specific regions, such as wind turbines in the Midwest, and therefore require substantial transmission infrastructure to be constructed to transport the generated electricity.

View the most expensive materials on Earth, led by those forged in particle accelerators

Californium-252—valued at $27.8M per gram, as of 2025—is far rarer and more valuable than gold, silver, or diamonds due to production and transportation costs. The most expensive substance ever found or created is antimatter, costing approximately $62.5T per gram.

Experiments suggest nuking a metal-rich asteroid may strengthen it

Scientists exposed meteorite samples to proton irradiation at CERN to mimic the effects of a nuclear detonation. The material exhibited greater resistance to breaking after the exposure, suggesting nuclear weapons may better serve to deflect asteroids, not break them.

Why space resource extraction companies are racing to harvest lunar helium

Without a magnetic field to deflect it away, helium-3 from solar wind has accumulated on the lunar surface over billions of years in significant quantities. With a reported value of $20M per kilogram because of its potential use in clean nuclear fusion, harvesting of helium-3 may form the basis of a future lunar economy.

Some renewable energy sources may weaken the resiliency of electric grids by removing outage buffers provided by coal- and natural gas-fired plants, which provide the system with more time to find a new power source if a plant goes down.

Learn how your body is, scientifically, like a firework with its own slow, controlled burn.

Sunflowers have long been a symbol of nuclear disarmament because they can extract large amounts of radioactive cesium from soil.

Radioactive elements can introduce software errors because the ionizing radiation they produce can detach electrons from atoms, and computer code relies on the distribution of electrons.

In 1984, Operation Smash Hit intentionally crashed a 239-ton train into a nuclear waste canister at 100 miles per hour to prove the canister's safety, which remained completely intact and lost just 0.29 of its 100 pounds of pressure.

Massive blooms of microscopic plankton called dinoflagellates produce the neon blue light seen in glowing tides.

While the sun's gravity keeps the planets in orbit, their gravity also pulls on the sun, causing it and everything else in the solar system to orbit around a mutual balance point called the barycenter—the true center of the solar system.

As of 2025, the most cited papers in science include a review of graphene, methods to improve image recognition, streamlining electron density calculations, and optimizing protein studies.

The United States is one of only around two dozen countries with a fully federal system of government, in which power is divided between national and state governments.

Volcanoes 'die' when their supply of magma runs out, if they are shifted away from their underlying magma reservoir, or if they get clogged by collapsing or their magma cooling back into rock.

Watch how deep-sea mining equipment collects and processes polymetallic nodules—metal-rich, potato-shaped rocks—from the ocean floor and creates environmentally damaging plumes of sediments.

See the 25 of the best photos of auroras from around the world.

Pure water does not conduct electricity because this flow of energy requires the movement of charged particles, and water is a neutral molecule.

Indefinite cloning of some endangered species may not sustain their longevity because cloning success rates decrease as genetic mutations accumulate.

Bone marrow (soft tissue found inside certain bones) generates roughly 500 billion new blood cells each day

For centuries, Niagara Falls has been a magnet for daredevils seeking to conquer one of nature's most powerful wonders, with its 200-foot drop and water rushing at 32 feet per second with 280 tons of force.

The United States has had a tumultuous relationship with Cuba since its 1959 revolution, highlighted by a nuclear crisis and a decades-long trade embargo.

The price of gas is a composite made up of several different factors, with the federal gas tax making up less than 20% of what drivers pay at the pump.

Sony set the standard for cylinder-shaped batteries when it repurposed manufacturing equipment used to make rolls of magnetic recording tape.

Apeirophobia is an overwhelming fear of living forever, perhaps stemming from the brain's inability to conceptualize an infinite life.

Hedge funds, the private investment firms that trade a wide swath of financial assets, make money by imposing steep fees on investors and from the fund's investment performance.

Before the current East Wing ballroom project, only two White House renovations in the past 100 years cost more than $10M.

One disco producer saw 'Star Wars' four times on its opening weekend and was so inspired that he recorded the album 'Star Wars and Other Intergalactic Funk,' which produced a chart-topping single.