Dream of Seeing Fusion in Our Lifetime

The earliest clues that fusion might be possible date from 1920, when a British scientist deduced combining hydrogen atoms to produce helium released net energy. In the 1930’s, scientists at University of Cambridge detected neutrons from fusion during an experiment they thought might explain the energy in the sun. But, their dream of seeing fusion used for peaceful purposes was about to take another turn.

Manhattan Set the Peaceful Dream of Seeing Fusion Aside

America’s top-secret Manhattan Project to build a nuclear weapon piggybacked onto British research in 1942. A massive security cordon obscured fusion research from all but the chosen few. However, even this was put on ice in favor of a more feasible nuclear fission bomb. This was the view from a safe distance as the world entered the nuclear age through the dark gates of the Trinity Test:

In 1952, American military scientists exploded a staged-fusion device code-named Ivy Mike above a lonely Pacific Atoll. Part of its explosive yield came from nuclear fusion. However, it was too large to be a ‘deliverable weapon’. When a later, smaller version failed in 1954, the military focused all its efforts on nuclear fission weapons instead. Nonetheless, they had demonstrated the immense energy potential of nuclear fusion.

What Is the Possibility of Seeing Fusion Used for Peace?

The dream of seeing fusion as a peaceful form of energy gathered momentum as the military lost interest in fusion weaponry. Countless academic experiments followed reaching a watershed when Russia produced a quasi-stationary fusion reaction in 1968. The American government pumped huge sums of money into U.S. research. However, by then Europe was well ahead and produced the first controlled release of fusion power in 1991.