Why is fusion power attractive?
Controlled fusion has the potential of becoming an important energy source because the fuel is widely available and because the reaction is relatively clean. The easiest fusion reaction to produce is combining two forms orisotopes of hydrogen, deuterium (also called heavy hydrogen) and a heavier isotope tritium, to make helium and a neutron. Deuterium is found abundantly in ordinary water, and tritium can be produced by combining the fusion neutron with the light metal lithium. There is enough deuterium in the oceans to provide an effectively unlimited supply of energy. Compared with the main sources of electrical energy used now, fusion is a clean source of energy. Unlike the burning of fossil fuels, like coal and petroleum, fusion produces no “greenhouse” gases and therefore does not contribute to global warming. Also, even though fusion is a nuclear process, it produces no long-lived radioactive waste. A properly designed fusion power plant would therefore be safe, and design studie
