What's happening?

The Sun is a huge nuclear reactor. Under extreme pressure and heat, it makes energy in a process called nuclear fusion.

Scientists are trying to copy this reaction. They think if we could create our own small version of the sun here on Earth, we could have endless energy to power the world.

Last week, scientists in China made a big step forward in the race to make the fake sun.

People around the world are excited. If it works, one day we could power the world without having to burn fossil fuelsFuels made from decomposing plants and animals, including coal, natural gas and oil. These fuels release carbon dioxide, causing global warming. and release greenhouse gasesGreenhouse gases, which increase the atmosphere's capacity to hold heat, are vital to life on Earth: without them the planet would be freezing. But human activity is disturbing the delicate balance that created the conditions for life as we know it. Carbon dioxide is responsible for 60% of the manmade greenhouse effect, but we also produce smaller quantities of methane, ozone and nitrous oxide, which are even more damaging., which cause global warmingThe Earth is getting hotter due to climate change..

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And most say that nuclear fusion is much safer than another form of nuclear power, nuclear fission, which is used today to make energy.

But scientists point out that nuclear fusion is very difficult. It needs temperatures ten times hotter than the Sun and powerful lasers and magnets to control it. All of this is very expensiveCosts a lot of money. .

Yes! Fusion will be the hardest thing we have ever done. But the amazing benefits mean scientists will work to make it a reality.

No! Fusion is a dream, not a reality. It is better to focus on clean energy options that already exist, such as wind and solarTo do with the sun. power.