Understanding Nuclear Fusion:

A Beginner’s Internet Resource

Guide

Jishnu Siddabathula

June 14, 2021

ENG202C
 Table of Contents

1. Introduction to Nuclear Fusion

1.1 Background Information

2. Nuclear Fusion Internet Sites and Sources

2.1 BBC News Article

2.2 ITER Government Document

2.3 Nature News Article

2.4 Energy Government Document

3. Nuclear Fusion Research

3.1 IOPscience Index

3.1 Nuclear Fusion Journal

 Introduction
What is in this guide:
This guide provides sources that will help people unfamiliar with nuclear fusion to better
understand the process, its many benefits, and the current state of progress towards it. The guide
includes sources from etalished news outlets and governments, as well as a journal index. Each
source hones in on specific areas about nuclear fusion offering in-depth explanations beyond the
introductory resources.

Who is this guide for:

This guide is for people who haven’t heard of nuclear fusion or have and are not familiar
with it. Many people often hear the word “nuclear” and immediately think it is dangerous or
complicated and in turn shy away from the topic altogether. In reality it is nowhere near as scary
or dangerous as it sounds and, conceptually, the process of nuclear fusion and how it works is not
hard to grasp. This guide will not only be eye opening, but also excite people and give hope for
what the future can hold for us once we figure out nuclear fusion.

What the guide assumes you know:

This guide does not require any advanced knowledge of physics or chemistry, although
some basic understanding of both would understandably make this guide much easier to read.
With that being said, the sources in this guide that explain the princess of nuclear fusion keep it
very simple and almost any one can read it and understand.

Organization of the guide:

This guide has three main sections. This first is a basic introduction and explanation of
nuclear fusion and how it works. The next section includes a source from ITER that explains the
benefits of nuclear fusion. The final section includes new articles providing the most recent
updates on fusion projects and include progress made and current challenges physicists are
facing. Each source has some tips about the useful parts of the documents.

Tips for using this Guide:

● If you are not at all familiar with nuclear fusion, just follow the guide in order for
a foundational understanding of it, as the sources get more and more technical as
you progress through the guide.
● If you are familiar with nuclear fusion, the table of contents will help you skip
ahead to the interesting news and applications of nuclear fusion and you can skip
the beginning section.
● Explore every source for yourself. An abstract is provided, but there may be
information in the source that you may be interested in that is not stated in the
abstract. All of the sources are worth at least a quick skim through.
 Short Background on Nuclear Fusion
Nuclear fusion is one of the most important technologies mankind will develop in the

coming century. By heating hydrogen isotopes by millions of degrees and compressing

them using magnetic fields, nuclear fusion reactors can fuse hydrogen into heavier

elements and as a by-product to this reaction, massive amounts of energy are released and

can be harnessed. This would provide one of the cleanest, most scalable, and most

abundant sources of renewable energy for humanity.

As of right now, scientists have not been able to sustain a fusion reaction that

produces a positive amount of energy. As it currently stands, massive amounts of energy

are needed to heat up the plasma and power the super magnets used in the reaction. In

order for fusion to work as a power source, the environment needs to be more intense,

hotter and more compressive in order to produce a net amount of energy. Once that is

achieved, the energy produced from the reactor will be more than enough to sustain itself

and then the remaining amount of power can be used to run our homes, industries, and

soon our cars as electric vehicles are becoming more prominent.

News Article: Nuclear fusion is 'a question of when, not if’
Website:

https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-50267017

Abstract:

The article “Nuclear fusion is 'a question of when, not if'” by Matt McGrath is a comprehensive overview

of the process of nuclear fusion. The author begins with a high level explanation of what nuclear fusion

is: heating up hydrogen isotopes by millions of degrees and controlling them with magnetic fields to

produce a plasma which can be fused into heavier elements, a process which produces energy as a

byproduct. The article then continues to discuss the feasibility of the project and how countries have

approached it, both independently and collaboratively, as well as private sector attempts. The author

wraps up by talking about where nuclear fusion power will fit into the world, namely its costs and

advantages over the current state of energy sources in the world. The article touches on almost all of the

important concepts regarding nuclear fusion and is a great starting point for anyone learning about it since

it provides a brief sampling of everything you need to know.

Tips:

● This article is a great launching point for this guide. This should ideally be the first or second read

for someone trying to familiarize themselves with nuclear fusion.

● The article encompasses most of this guide's scope. Reading it first will introduce you to almost

everything talked about in the rest of the guide, that way anything that was interesting or unclear

in this article can be delved into or cleared up using the table of contents and navigating to a

resource specifically about that concept.

Government Document: Advantages of Fusion

Website: https://www.iter.org/sci/Fusion

Abstract:

ITER is an international collaborative effort by 35 of the world’s most advanced countries to create a

working nuclear fusion reactor that produces a net positive amount of energy. This source is from their

official website and goes over the advantages of nuclear fusion over traditional power sources. The page

is structured with bolded headings for each advantage, followed by an explanation of each. These

advantages include abundant energy, sustainability, no CO2, no long-lived radioactive waste, limited risk

of proliferation, no risk of meltdown, and cost.

Tips:

● This source is very short and goes over every essential advantage nuclear fusion has.

● You can read the bolded heading for a quick list, or if any of them are unclear or not obvious at

first glance, then a complete description of each benefit is included as well.

News Article: Fuel for World’s Largest Fusion Reactor ITER is

Set for Test Run

Website:

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-00408-1

Abstract:

Nature is a news outlet dedicated specifically for science

topics and this article covers the most recent developments within the nuclear development field. As

fusion reactors are getting more advanced, more tests using the very rare fuel, tritium,are being

conducted. Beginning in June, JET will begin using even mixtures of deuterium and tritium to simulate

conditions in nuclear fusion reactors. Using super magnets, JET can heat up the fuel to over 100 million

degrees, and achieved a record 0.67 power in to power out ratio. As more information is gathered,

scientists can use more and more tritium in the fuel mixture to explore its effects on the reaction as well as

power output. Currently, work is being done to refit the JET so that fewer impurities are present in the

plasma which is created when superheating the fuel, which is integral to the quality of the fusion reaction.

These are all indications of great progress towards achieving a viable fusion reactor.

Tips:

● This is just one article but does provide good details about the current state of fusion

development.

● If you’re curious about the details of what has been holding up fusion development and what is

blocking progress, this article explains the challenges that scientists are experiencing and

approaches for possible solutions.

Government Document: DOE Explains...Nuclear Fusion
Reactions
Website: https://www.energy.gov/science/doe-explainsnuclear-fusion-reactions

Abstract:

This website is run by the US Department of Energy (DoE). It provides an overview of nuclear fusion, but

also US specific information such as government programs and where the funding is going for nuclear

fusion development. The website provides hyperlink to additional information such as new approaches for

scientists to research plasma behavior as well as secondary applications of nuclear fusion that were

outside of the original intention/scope of the project.

Tips:

● This resource has additional explanations, diagrams, and videos explaining nuclear fusion that

serve as a nice review for readers of this guide.

● The ‘Fusion Ignites Innovation’ section of the of the page discusses various industries and parties

that have benefits from developments in the nuclear fusion space such as the semiconductor and

rare minerals industries as well as the US Navy. This part really helps readers with understanding

how much benefit there is once fusion power is integrated into our world’s power grid.
IOPscience Index
Website: https://iopscience.iop.org

Abstract:

IOPscience is a database dedicated to helping users find reliable publications and resources about the field

of physics. IOPscience stands out in comparison to other indexes because it was designed as an innovative

technology to aid researchers in finding relevant content on nuclear fusion easily. The collection of

information in IOPscience includes but is not limited to community websites, magazines, conference

proceedings, and many electronic services. The search bar at the top of the website is utilized

appropriately when users type in boolean terms relevant to their topic at hand. To find specific

information about nuclear fusion, users are able to narrow down their searches by using the dropdown box

and selecting the Nucl. Fusion (1960-present) journal. This enhanced search filtering allows users to

speed up their research process.

Tips:

● To make the index more personalized, users are able to customize their alerts, save and bookmark

articles of interest, and quickly view the most up to date articles within the nuclear fusion subject

area.

● In order to find the most up to date research or research from an exact time period on nuclear

fusion, IOPscience gives users the luxury of choosing the relevant journal along with the volume,

issue, and article or page number.

Nuclear Fusion Journal

Website: https://iopscience.iop.org/journal/0029-5515

Abstract:

Nuclear Fusion is a professional journal founded by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in

1960. The journal focuses on the production, heating and confinement of high temperature plasmas;

physical properties of plasmas; the experimental or theoretical methods of exploring or explaining them;

fusion reactor physics; reactor concepts; and fusion technologies. Due to the journal's large scope of

information, it is the leading journal in the field of nuclear fusion and is published every month. IOP

Publishing which owns IOPscience has undertaken the production, distribution, marketing, and

subscription responsibilities of the journal since 2002. IOP Publishing works closely with IAEA’s peer

review and editorial services to deliver ethically reviewed high quality papers, letters, comments,

conference summaries, and review articles. To get the most timely information from the IOPscience

website, users are able to choose the current volume and journal archive from both dropdown bars on the

main page.

Tips:

● Users can also utilize the “most read”, “most cited”, “latest articles”, “reviewed articles”,

“accepted manuscripts”, or “open access” hyperlinks on the main page to access information most

relevant to their search.

● To increase online functionality, authors typically include supplemental material such as movies,

animations, sound files, and more to help users understand information easier.