US scientists announce fusion energy breakthrough

Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm announced a "major scientific breakthrough" Tuesday in the decades-long quest to harness fusion, the energy that powers the sun and stars.

Researchers at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California for the first time produced more energy in a fusion reaction than was used to ignite it, something called net energy gain.Jennifer M. Granholm, U.S. Department of Energy Secretary said "Researchers at Livermore and around the world have been working on this moment for more than 60 years.

So, what does this accomplishment do? Two things. First, it strengthens our national security, because it opens a new realm for maintaining a safe, secure and effective nuclear deterrent in an age where we do not have nuclear testing." "And the second thing it does, of course, is that this milestone moves us one significant step closer to the possibility of zero carbon, abundant fusion energy powering our society."

Proponents of fusion hope that it could one day produce nearly limitless, carbon-free energy, displacing fossil fuels and other traditional energy sources.