Author: George R. Tynan, Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of California, San Diego

The way scientists think about fusion changed forever in 2022, when what some called the experiment of the century demonstrated for the first time that fusion can be a viable source of clean energy. The experiment, at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, showed ignition: a fusion reaction generating more energy out than was put in. In addition, the past few years have been marked by a multibillion-dollar windfall of private investment in the field, principally in the United States. But a whole host of engineering challenges must be addressed before fusion can be scaled up to become a safe, affordable source…